That is Such...

Travel Tips

2008-09-29T13:39:00.001-04:00

Paris for Prez!

2008-08-06T13:35:00.001-04:00

McCain used Paris in a recent campaign in which he compared Obama to Paris. Now Paris has come out with her ad against, the "old dude." This actually makes me like her.

Paris Hilton Responds to McCain Adfunny videosFunnyOrDie.com

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

Sorry for the Absence

2008-06-03T17:26:00.002-04:00

To those of you who check my blog, I am sorry for the lack of posting recently. It is not for want of posting, but rather I have been having issues getting my page to load. Something is causing something to not run properly. I have deleted most video clips, but that hasn't helped.

I checked Times Square, but the poster with Whitney, America's Most Kick Ass Top Model, was not up yet. It might be now though. So I will check again.

Notable upcoming TV events - Kathy Griffin's My Life On the D-List starts again June 12. Also coming in June is a new reality game show called something like "I was on a Japanese Game Show." There is also going to be some show in which contestants have to run an insane obstacle course and it looks hilarious.

ANTM Gets it Right!!!

2008-05-14T21:09:00.004-04:00

Whitney won this cycle of America's Next Top Model! What is so amazing about this is that Whitney is "full figured." She is not a size zero waif. She has curves. She is gorgeous. She is a real woman that most young girls can identify with. She is healthy looking, not emaciated.

I am so thrilled that finally a real woman won. Whitney is showing that real women are beautiful and that one does not have to be rail thin. What a fantastic message to be sending to young women everywhere. It is about time the fashion industry started taking some responsibility for the eating disorders it has created. Even if Whitney was solely chosen to send that message, I don't care. To me, she was the best this season and she deserved the win.

Tomorrow I will take my camera to Times Square and get a photo of her billboard - if it is up.

Yay Whitney!!!!

Dear Suzy

2008-04-16T08:44:00.002-04:00

Dear Suzy,

See, a woman CAN be the biggest loser. It is YOU who couldn't do it. And thanks to you, once again Jillian kicked my ass.

Luvyameanit,

Bob

ps: Congratulations Ali!

A Black Comedy About White Trash

2008-04-08T17:50:00.003-04:00

Logo has released the trailer for Sordid Lives, the series. If you don't know what Sordid Lives is, you are missing out. The series is set before the movie, sort of a prelude. So there may be some confusion for those familiar with the film as to why Sissy, LaVonda and Brother Boy's mother is alive (the movie is centered around her funeral). Many of the original cast is in the series.

This should be a great show. Watch for it this fall.

Here is a link to the trailer.

http://www.logoonline.com/?popThis=popVideo(220931)

Outta the Oven

2008-03-31T13:36:00.004-04:00

This Saturday, Giada gave birth to a baby girl, Jade Marie De Laurentiis Thompson.

Congratulations to Giada and Todd.

Look how amazing Giada looks right after giving birth.

Moment of Truth

2008-01-24T09:27:00.000-05:00

Last night Fox debuted its newest reality show, Moment of Truth. In this show, contests, before they come on the actual show, are asked 50 questions while connected to a lie detector. A polygraph specialist analyzes their test report and determines which answers were true and which were false. Then on the actual show, they are asked 21 of the same 50 questions. If they answer all the questions truthfully, as determined by the results of their polygraph test, they win $500,000. There are 4 levels of questions. After each level completed, the contestant has the option of walking away with the amount of money for that level. Contestants also have to answer any question asked. They can chose to stop at anytime, but once a question is asked, they must answer it. And to add a little more drama, 3 of the contestant's friends/family are there to observe and hear all the answers.

This show has the potential to be awesome. However, the staging of it ruins the show completely. The contestant is asked a question. There is then a long pause before he answers it. Then there is an even longer pause before a computer generated voice says, "that answer is true" or "that answer is false." Some of the questions are very probing. One contestant last night was asked, "have you delayed having children because you are not sure if Catia (his wife) is your ideal partner?" He answered, "yes." The voice then announced, "that answer is true." Now mind you, his wife was right there are he answered the question. He eventually got knocked out when asked, "have you ever touched a female client more than necessary during a personal training session?" He answered, "no." However, the computer announced, "that answer is false."

There are such great opportunities for drama during the show, but the long pauses detract from it. I don't know why the producers thought these pauses would be good and add tension, but they only serve to drag things out. For a show like this, you need continued momentum to hold interest, 10 to 15 second pauses in the action make the show crawl. I was really hoping to be enthralled by this show. I wasn't. I will give it a second chance, but if it doesn't get better. It's over.

Oh Ricky You're So Fine

2008-01-24T08:20:00.000-05:00

Any fan of Project Runway probably is aware that Ricky, was not in the bottom this week. Not only was he not in the bottom, but he won! Let's recap:

For the challenge, the designers were taken across the Brooklyn Bridge (gasp!) to a warehouse on the docks. Outside the warehouse they were met by Caroline Calvin of Levis. Inside the warehouse were hundreds of pairs of 501's in different washes and yards of plain white cotton. The designers have to create an iconic look using the jeans and cloth. They have a few minutes to gather all the material they can carry and stuff into laundry bags.

YAY! Another challenge where Chris is going to have to run. Did the producers not learn from the first episode of the season? Don't make Chris run. Then again, they probably did and that is why they made him run. I think being on PR is the most exercise that man has ever gotten. On the run to the jeans, Sweet P lost a shoe. Who the hell wears flip flops when you know there is always the possibility of some kind of field trip? Does she not know how this show works?

The designers all scramble to get as much denim as possible. Rami goes for dark colors while Jillian goes for lighter ones. They seem to be the only two who have a concept of what they are going to do, at least color-wise. When the designers return to the workshop, Sweet P laments how dirty her denim is. Chris and Christian get into a bitch fight about the best way to clean the denim. Christian is a talented designer, but he is too bitchy for color TV. Chris is just a bitter man. He might have been suffering from low blood sugar, after all, he did have to run 100 yards.

We get a side interview with Rami who talks about not being an American designer. He talks about growing up in Jerusalem and how sketching clothes was his was of feeling safe when he was 5 years old. What the hell did this have to do with anything? It was as if he was trying to explain ahead of time why his design won't be good. Apparently, unless he is doing something where he can drape the fabric, he can't make anything. He is starting to seem like a one hit wonder, much like Laura Bennett. He does one style. He does it well, but there is little, if any, variety. He drapes much like Laura only did the Empire waist thing.

Jillian is making a long coat. Unfortunately, this is the same thing she did last week. Fortunately for us, she has a complete melt down when she is making it. While her idea was good, it was way too much for her to complete in 10 hours. When it came down the runway, you could sort of see what she was going for, but there was too much going on. If she had more time to edit herself, I have no doubt it would have been much better. Not a winner, but still better.

Victorya decided to make a trench coat, almost copying Jillian. Victorya, the only reason you did well last week with the coat was because Jillian made the coat. Victorya talked about when she was a child she would sketch clothes and her mother would make them. OK Victorya, that only means you can sketch. And we have no idea how much your mother altered your designs. The only reason you have survived this long is that each week one of the other designers tells you how to fix your garment. The trench coat she designed looked like she tailed an already existing denim jacket and added a skirt to it.

Ricky was excited by this challenge. He decided to call on his lingerie experience (designing, not wearing...as far as we know). He makes a corset with a skirt. I actually liked it. It was much better than what he has previously done on the show. During the judging, Michael Kors, remarked that we are finally seeing Ricky's talent come out. Man, Ricky is lucky he wasn't cut before this.

For me, Sweet P had the best design. She used several different washes of denim to make a gorgeous dress. She initially started out making a wedding dress, but after Tim told her it looked like "Happy hands granny's sewing circle" she rethought the design. She cut off the bottom length and the amazing dress emerged. Nina and Michael had a great quip about it:

Nina: Any of us women, except you Michael, could wear that dress.
Michael: I don't know, with the right shoes...

Snaps to Michael!

Christian made a motocross outfit - skinny jeans and a denim jacket. The jacket was made from jeans and the jeans were made from jackets. Very clever. It had a very Pat Benetar look to it. I liked it, but I didn't find it right for this challenge. I give him a lot of credit though. Christian had immunity this week, so he could have designed drek and still been safe. However, he worked hard and made a great outfit.

Chris tried to reinvent the little black dress as a little blue dress. Tried being the operative word. The dress looked unfinished. When Nina asked about some of the unfinished edges Chris said he left them that way intentionally. Michael challenged him by saying that he could have frayed all the edges then to make it uniform and look like a design element, not unfinished. Chris, you got served.

Rami's final dress was cute. He highlighted some of the seems with zippers. However, this reminded me of Jeffrey's designs for the finale last season. Rami may not be a one note, but he is not always original. Yes, the design was nice, but when I am reminded of a design from someone else, that is a problem.

In the end Ricky won. I just wonder if he would have won had he not been in the bottom so much. Because he has been so consistently bad, doing something good looked that much better. Not only did he win, but Caroline Calvin announced that Levi's was going to sell his garment as a limited edition. I think Sweet P should have won this one. Her dress rocked and was totally wearable. I am sure that Ricky only won because his garment was so much better than anything else he had done before. I am all for rewarding improvement, but Sweet P was robbed on this one.

Victorya was aufed this week. Michael commented that he garment looked like she just reconnoitered a denim jacket. Normally when a designer is aufed, he or she thanks the judges for the opportunity. However, Victorya walked off in silence. She got her kiss from Heidi, and then left. There was something insincere about this. Victorya was given a huge opportunity, but she showed no gratitude for it. Moreover, when Tim told her it was time to go to the workroom to clean out her space, she said she didn't want a group hug. Every other designer, when aufed, gets a big heartfelt good-bye from the remaining contestants. Victorya didn't. This was truly the biggest sore loser moment I think I have ever seen on this show.

He Writes the Songs...

2008-01-17T13:55:00.000-05:00

This is one of the best American Idol auditions ever!

Even Simon was nice, for Simon.

Golden Globes

2008-01-15T09:35:00.000-05:00

I do not like awards shows. I will occasionally watch if forced to, but in general, I do not watch them. The musical numbers during the Tony's are my exception. Who doesn't love a big ass production number? The award shows used to have a sense of glamor, but not they are just self aggrandizing ego boosts. True, some celebs ( and I am talking mostly about men here) do dress quite well, but when they show up looking shaggy and like they are going to the laundromat it detracts from the event. These events are all about people who are already getting paid for a few weeks work more than most of us will make in a lifetime. And now they need to get an award for it? Come on!

The Golden Globes is different than the Oscar's or Emmy's. The Golden Globes always seems like a more fun event than the other award shows. Who will forget Christine Lahti missing her entrance because she was in the bathroom? At the Golden Globes, the actors really seem to he there to have fun and just enjoy the time.

This year, because of the writer's strike, the Golden Globes was transformed. Gone were the red carpet and acceptance speeches. No pre-show showing the celebs arriving for the event. Instead, this year's Golden Globes was just Nancy O'Dell and Billy Bush standing at a podium reading the winners' names. I actually liked this better. Sure the flash was missing, but it was fast, over in one hour. None of the bad jokes, no long speeches, no staying up late to see the whole show.

Even though the writer's strike is totally messing with my TV watching... I want new episodes, I do fully support the writers. And, if anything good has happened as a result of the strike, it looks like award shows will be shorter. YAY!

Say Good-bye to Big Hair and Sequins

2008-01-05T09:07:00.000-05:00

TLC has a new show, Miss America Reality Check. All 52 Miss America contestants are put in one house and undergo complete makeovers. Not because they are ugly (well except maybe for Miss Idaho), but rather the traditional look of Miss America is outdated. The goal is to bring Miss America into modern times.

The host is Michael Urie, Marc St. James of Ugly Betty. He is the perfect host for this show. Why? Because on Ugly Betty he is the right hand man to Wilhemenia Slater, played by Vanessa L. Williams. To me she will always be Miss America 1984, despite the fact that she gave up her crown. I wonder how she feels about him working with the Miss America people. I so want him to mention her.

At the start of the show, all 52 women arrive at the house. They are shown clips from on the street interviews of people regarding their impressions of Miss America. The overall thought was that all the contestants are plastic, and the pageant is outdated. It needs to be modernized and the glamor brought back to it. After the women see these clips, they are visibly shaken. All the hairspray must have gotten to them. They were all shocked to learn what people think of the pageant. What kind of bubble have they been living in? I can understand Miss Oklahoma or Miss Texas not knowing this, or any other contestant from a big pageant state, but you would think women from states where pageants are not a way of life would have some clue.

Next Michael brought on Stacy and Clinton from What Not to Wear to go through each woman's suitcases to dissect their outfits. The amount of sequins they saw was blinding. Pretty much each contestant had packed similarly, showing again the Miss America is not original anymore, that they all drank the Kool-Aid.

The women got split into 6 teams based on things they had in common:
Blue: States with the most wins
Green: States with recent winners (in the past decade)
Light Blue: "always a bridesmaid." These women are from states that have never had a winner, but many second place winners.
Red: Most winning combo - brown hair and brown eyes (who knew?)
Purple: Oldest contestants
Pink: Underdogs - no winners or runners up, ever.

From the get go, the women are told, "less is more" yet when they show up the next day to what they know will be an athletic challenge, some are in full make-up. For this challenge, each team has to run an obstacle course, put together a map of the U.S.A., find their state flag (all of the flags were lined up on poles so they were waving in the wind) and then run with the flag to the finish line. The first team to finish won first rights to the showers - there are only 7 showers for all of the women. The purple team is in the lead until the flag portion, when Miss Pennsylvania could not ID her state flag. I don't think I could pick out NY's flag, but then again, I am not representing my state in a national competition. When this is your job, you should know what your state flag looks like. The Light Blue team won.

Next the women attend a dinner party. Miss Rhode Island said, "I hope it has nothing to do with dinner etiquette, because I failed that class in college." OHMYGOD!!! First of all, this is a class offered in college? And secondly, she failed it?!? What the f_ _ _?!? The women are told there will be a special guest at the party. When they arrived for the party (again some are totally overly made-up and have total pageant hair - Miss Idaho) they learned the "guest" is controversy. There are envelopes containing controversial topics on each table and the women needed to talk about them. Miss D.C. said, "I was expecting Vanessa Williams..." Did she really think Vanessa would be asked to do something involving Miss America? The advisers for the show wanted to see how these women really spoke, not prepared pageant answers, but really who they thought and expressed themselves. The topics included pre-marital sex, gun control and same-sex marriage. Miss Colorado was in the gun control group and revealed that her brother was shot in the Columbine massacre. He survived, but is now handicapped. In the same-sex marriage discussion, Miss North Carolina said that she could not condone it. Miss Vermont however, knocked it out of the park. She said, "how would you feel if you were told because you are blond you can't do something, but you can do this, which is almost the same thing, but not quite?" Miss Vermont totally gets the separate but equal thing between Civil Unions and Marriage is crap. On of the advisers comments that Miss Vermont personifies what the pageant needs to become, more modern.

At the end, the 3 top and 3 bottom women are announced. It is not as if anyone gets booted from the house, but it shows the women how they are faring in the advisers eyes for getting what the point of the show is.

One final point, for the first time in Miss America history, the audience will get to vote for one of the women to be in the top 16 finalists. 15 will be judge selected as usual, but the 16th is audience chosen. To vote go to http://www.TLC.com/missamerica.

Dear Suzy

2008-01-03T09:50:00.001-05:00

Dear Suzy,

I missed the final episode of Biggest Loser because I was busy working out, not eating like you probably were. I found out that Bill won and his twin brother Jim who was kicked off early in the season won the second chance. So not only did Jillian's have the only contestants in the final 4, but she also won the second chance. Sure they look good now, but just wait. I mean look at your husband, Matt who won season 2, he was trained by Jillian and is getting big again. Then again, it is probably your fault he's fat again. It's bad enough that you messed up your own body, but do you really have to take him down too?

This season Kim is gone and it is back to Jillian and I as the trainers. I hope Kim comes back, Jillian scares the crap out of me and I know I can at least have a win against Kim. Instead of having 2 teams of 6, there are now 10 teams of 2. We each have 5 teams to train. Even though only 2 of my 5 teams teams picked me as their trainer (the others all wanted Jillian, but she was filled quickly and I got the left overs) I will show them I am a hard ass. Sure I may act like a sissy, but I'm in great shape and they're all fat. Maybe seeing how many people "got stuck with me" will force me to step up my game and give me the incentive to FINALLY beat Jillian. It's not like you did anything to help me beat her when you had the chance. With you it was all about you, you didn't do squat for me.

I hope I don't see you and Matt on here if they ever do another couples season. Face it, if you come back you really would be the biggest loser...and not in a good way.

Luvyameanit,

Bob

Out of the Ordinary

2007-12-31T10:32:00.000-05:00

I normally post something TV related, but I need to switch to movies for a moment. And, not even a movie based on a TV show. Last night I saw I Am Legend. Until then I had never walked out of a movie saying, "I hated that!" Now I have. I have left movies feeling upset or disturbed, but not hating the movie. I have even not liked some movies. I Am Legend is the first movie I officially hate. The premise of the film is good, but the execution is lacking. Will Smith does an admirable job portraying the last uninfected person in New York City. The mechanisms he creates t maintain his sanity are great. And 99% of the dialog in the film is actually a monologue by Will. He is great. Nevertheless, as a whole, this movie sucks. There is a glaring hole in the plot that comes out towards the end of the movie.

After about an hour, I was sure the movie had to be almost over. I was pissed to see that I still had about 45 more minutes to sit through. The movie felt interminable. Perhaps that was the film maker's goal. This way we could feel the struggle Will Smith's character is facing. Then again, maybe I am just trying to justify how awful this movie was.

Do not see this film. It is 100 minutes of your life you will never get back.

Finally, The Ultimate in Holiday Music Videos

2007-12-24T09:23:00.000-05:00

I have been saving this one just for today. This is proof that pretty people should just be pretty and not try to sing, act or dance. Just enjoy being pretty and shut up!

Happy Holidays!

Walt, this is for you

2007-12-22T16:27:00.001-05:00

Speaking of Chinese Food on Christmas

2007-12-22T16:21:00.000-05:00

see prior post to get the reference.

Sad, so so sad.

2007-12-22T16:03:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I caught a mistake on Food Network. What saddens me so is who made it. Yes, it was she. My goddess messed up. It was not a huge glaring mistake, but a mistake none the less. Giada was preparing a meal for a dinner party - Braciola, broccoli rabe, bread sticks and an endive salad. I am actually making this meal (save the endive salad) for dinner on Christmas Eve (can't have Chinese until the next day). At the end of the episode they showed everyone at the table eating ( I love when they show the event for which Giada was cooking. Watching people rave about her food is fun). Anyway, so there they are, Giada, Todd and 2 other couples, sitting around the table. Giada is telling everyone what each dish is. However, the broccoli rabe is not served. She made it. I saw her do it. Yet, when it came time to eat - no broccoli rabe. It wasn't even mentioned. It was as if she never made it.

I would have preferred her saying something like, "I made broccoli rabe, but it didn't come out well, so I decided not to serve it." At least acknowledge that you made it. I don't care if it was bad. In fact I would welcome seeing that not everything Giada makes comes out well. She's a human being and allowed to make mistakes. But pretending it never existed bothers me.

A Reality That Scares Me

2007-12-21T15:22:00.000-05:00

There are 3 kinds of reality shows. High end like Project Runway, middle like Survivor and low end like Being Bobby Brown. Well, I was recently turned onto one of the lowest of the low, VH1's I Love New York 2. Not only is this show pure trash, IT IS THE SECOND time they've done it.

This show is a take off of shows like The Bachelor. New York, whose real name is Tiffy Pollard, is trying to find her ideal man. New York was a Flavor of Love girl to give you some idea of the quality of his show. I caught onto this show when there were only 2 episodes left, but that was enough. New York is totally ghetto. Huge fake boobies that are spilling out of her dress, extensions, nails and no command of the English language. She is the black version of trailer trash.

New York gets advice from her mother, Sister Patterson. I have no clue where that name came from, because she is definitely not a nun. If someone had told me she was was born a man (before I knew she was New York's mother), I would have believed it. Better still, a man who used to be a Cher impersonator.

By the time I learned of this show, New York had narrowed down her field of suitors to 3. At the end of the episode, she got rid one of the only two decent men she had left, a Harvard educated lawyer. Instead, she chose to keep Buddha, a man who she had eliminated once but then brought back. This guy is a total player and is playing her like a violin. The two of them could reenact Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolff. She throws him out and then as soon as he leaves, chases after him. He is totally doing the "act like a self involved dick who doesn't like her" routine. And she is falling for it. Only thing is, for him it is no act. She will scream, "I hate you!" and then run after him not to leave her. They are like Ike and Tina. Even her mother tells her not to keep him around.

Her other remaining suitor is Tailor Made (as in tailor made for her). He is a total spineless dork. He buys her dresses and jewelery to stay in her favor. He is the exact opposite of Buddha. He would do anything New York tells him to. And he has insanely shiny skin.

On one of her dates with the men, she goes to Parrot Jungle. In her confessional speech she say, "We arrived at the Parrot Jungle and I immediately get nervous. I'm like, 'oh my goodness!'. I knew there was gonna be parrots there." No shit, the place is called Parrot Jungle. What was your first clue that there would be parrots there? And just when you think it can't get worse, she speaks again, "I'm afraid of parrots cuz they don't know how to speak english diction." Oh New York, Queen of Irony. Using that "logic" everyone should be truly terrified of her.

However frightening that was, my favorite moment of the series (OK, I am only going on 2 episodes here) was when Sister Patterson and has a little heart-to-heart chat with Tailor Made. She is trying to help him win, not necessarily because she thinks he is great, but because Buddha is pure trouble. She tells him to close his eyes and then she slaps him across the face!!! HARD! And not just one slap, but the forehand and the backhand. It was one of those moments like on L.A. Law (if you have never heard of this show, you are too young) when Rosalyn Shays proposed to Leland McKenzie and then fell down the elevator shaft. You're stunned and thinking, "did I just see that?" And then when the reality of what just happened sinks in a second later you burst out with a hearty laugh while thinking, "holy crap!" Here, watch it for yourself.

This takes reality TV to a such a low level that even I am shocked. I won't reveal who she picked at the end. But it really doesn't matter because they won't stay together. This is a reality dating show after all. Other than Ryan and Trista, I don't know of any other reality couples that have lasted.

What a Feeling

2007-12-15T18:32:00.000-05:00

This week on PR we saw the untimely departure of Jack. But good for him for putting his health first. I do hope he gets his MRSA infection taken care of. Maybe they will bring him back next season.

Poor Steven, he got hosed on the challenge. For anyone who didn't watch it, the models this week were replaced by women who had each lost a significant amount of weight. Each designer was assigned one woman and had to makeover her favorite outfit from her heavier days into something she could wear everyday. Steven got stuck with one of the most god awful wedding dresses I have ever seen. That satiny material was covered in beads and based on all the reading on it I have done (thank you BPR) the material is amazingly hard to work with. Also, how sad it i that someone's favorite outfit is her wedding dress? Moreover, would you ever want someone to take your wedding dress apart? Who knows, maybe there was a nasty divorce. Steven's design was awful, he made the woman look like a pilgrim. He was aufed.

The best line of the night came from Tim. After Jack's departure, they brought back Chris who was aufed last week. As he was starting later than the other designers, he was allowed to work all night reather than ending at midnight like everyone else. When talking to Chris, Tim advised him to make all his decisions now, because, "I've made more bad decisions at three o'clock in the morning than I can list." Of course he didn't mean it the way everyone in the work room and watching at home took it. When he caught on to why everyone was laughing he started cracking up too. Yay for you Tim.

The designers this season are definitely talented. Snaps to Christian for winning the challenge this week. Even though I find you grating, your outfit was great. But now that Jack is gone, who are you going to get piggy-back rides from?

As a tribute to Jack, I am now going to share with you a video he made for Youtube. Enjoy! Hint: the title of today's post is a big clue.

Another Hoiday Ditty

2007-12-14T12:05:00.000-05:00

This is a real commercial running this season on TV. It is a commercial for Victoria's Secret in which Heidi Klum "sings." This is also just a teaser for an up coming holiday music posting.

So Close!

2007-12-14T11:53:00.000-05:00

Well, on Wednesday night, the winner of this cycle of ANTM was chosen. If you recall, after the season premier, I called Chantal as the winner. She was the runner up. Yes, that means she lost, but I was so close. Runner up is not a bad thing. The winner was Saleisha. At the final runway show, Saleisha nailed it and definitely did better than Chantal. Chantal was just too stiff and broke character when one of the performers alongside the runway fell down.

So, congratulations Saleisha. You are America's Next Top Model.

She Didn't Mean Phat!

2007-12-11T15:21:00.000-05:00

Janice Dickinson, former ANTM judge and self proclaimed world's first supermodel, called Tyra Banks fat on the Today Show. Janice was discussing Jennifer Love Hewitt's recently released bikini photos. They are not flattering shots. However, Janice said JLH is not fat, and that if you want to see someone fat, look at Tyra Banks. She then tried to back peddle, but to no avail. She put it out there for the entire world to hear. Tyra may not be as thin as she was during her modeling days, but she is not fat. Not by any stretch of the imagination.

Janice is the last person who has any right to comment on someone else's looks. She herself looks like a plastic surgery nightmare. She is so stretched, pulled, botoxed and inflated that she actually looks like a living caricature of herself.

Here is the video clip. The actually comments are at one minute 15 seconds in.

It's A Miracle

2007-12-09T20:47:00.000-05:00

In honor of Chanukah...

Show Combination!!!

2007-12-05T09:22:00.000-05:00

You, my loyal readers, know how much I love it when there is a cross over between two shows. Well, next week it will happen again. The shows, Real Housewives of Orange County (yeah, I know I said I was going to stop watching) and Project Runway. Austin Scarlett of PR season 1 will be on RHOC helping Lauri pick out her wedding gown. It will be like a bonus scene of PR!

Back to the Start

2007-12-05T09:05:00.000-05:00

Kudos to all the competitors on Biggest Loser. They have all lost amazing amounts of weight. Last night I could really see the difference. They are all starting to look great. During the show, after each commercial break they would show photos of competitors from seasons past, where each started and where he or she was at the finale of their season. It was interesting to see that many of the prior seasons competitors started out weighing less than this season's remaining competitors after 11 weeks at the Biggest Loser Campus. And, as I said, the remaining 5 have each lost considerable amounts of weight. Just goes to show how big they were to begin with.

Last week the last member of the Red Team was eliminated. This is the first time an entire team has been eliminated prior to the finale. Then again, they used to only have 2 teams, not 3. This means that trainer Kim is no longer on the show for the rest of the season. But, there are only 2 episodes left, so not a big deal. I just wonder if she will be back next season. After last night's show, of the remaining 5 competitors. 4 are from the Black Team and 1 is from the Blue Team. Part of me wants Neil, the final Blue Team member eliminated next week, so that the final four are all from Jillian's Black Team. However, she would gloat so much that I don't know if I could actually watch it. Neil will likely not be eliminated next week though.

As this season wore on and teams were reformed, Jillian's strategy with the Black Team was to have them steadily eliminate member of the other teams. While this may have helped with team unity, in the long run it hurt them. Rather than competing as individuals, they operated as a group. This had the result of each member of the Black Team now being pitted against one another and seriously damaging each of their chances of winning. When all is said and done, this is still a competition. Some of the remaining members of the Black Team are big threats to their teammates. They should have been eliminated early on. Yes, initially you want big losers on your team to avoid elimination, but at some point, you need to start eliminating them to help your own chances of winning. Even though Jillian wanted her team to lose weight and get healthy, I think her personal goal was to have the Black Team be the only ones in the final four. She knew what she was doing by telling them who to eliminate. As long as the winner is one of her trainees, she will be happy. She does not have the same motivation as the competitors who want to be The Biggest Loser. She didn't let them compete for themselves and in the end, that is going to hurt them.

Let's Talk About It

2007-11-26T16:17:00.000-05:00

One of the shows I watch weekly, but have yet to talk about it is Talk Sex with Sue Johanson. The show is on Oxygen, Sunday at 11PM. If you have never watched before, you need to see it. You don't have to watch the full hour to get it, just 10 minutes is enough.

Talk Sex is a call in show. Viewers call in and ask sex related questions to Sue. Sue is not a doctor, nor does she hold herself out as one. When a caller refers to her as Dr. Johanson, she corrects the caller most of the time. The times she doesn't, I think she missed the "Dr." part. The calls on this show range from the retarded to the weird. One caller last night wanted to know if she could get pregnant from "having anal sex in the butt." There are so many problems with that question. First of all, who would think you could get pregnant from anal sex? These are people who vote!!! And secondly, anal sex means in the butt!!!

In addition to the questions, during every show Sue reviews a sex toy from what she calls her "hot stuff" bag. The toys are given charcoal briquettes on the hibachi of love. Seeing a 78 year old woman showing sex toys is a little scary.

Sue often uses dildos and dolls to show viewers what she is talking about. Sometimes she gets very animated and borders on being scary. Unlike Dr. Ruth, she does not have an accent to make her amusing.

More About My Meeting

2007-11-17T11:15:00.000-05:00

Last night I was still high on meeting Giada so I was not able to give a detailed recounting of the experience. So, let me share that with you now.

The Event, Sweet, was Food Network's kick off to the New York Food and Wine Festival set to happen in 2008. Upon entering the loft space you were greeted with trays of champagne, Evian and Ferrero Rocher chocolates. The atmosphere was festive, the music great (lots of 80's pop) however it was VERY crowded, uncomfortably so. On both sides of the event space were tables with dessert samples from some of New York City's finest restaurants and various wines to go with the desserts. Some of the desserts were very good, but overall, I was less than impressed. When it comes to dessert I am all about simple. I don't understand the need for roquefort mousse or goat cheese cheesecake. But I digress.

As we walked through the space, I was scanning the crowd for a glimpse of Giada. We eventually made it 3/4 of the way through the space and came to the photo-op area. When we got there Michael Chiarella was there taking photos with fans and the Ferrero Rocher girls. I asked a woman with a clipboard if Giada had been by yet. I figured that she would know because she has a clipboard and was wearing a headset. She told me Giada was there earlier but was likely now in the VIP area. Needless to say, I was crushed. I was ready to leave at that point. But we finished our walk through the space. We reached the end and turned around to head out.

We were about 2/3 of the way back through the event when the heavens parted and a ray of light shone done. Right there in front of me was Giada. My heart started pounding and my legs turned to jelly. I turned to my hubby and said, "she is right there, get the camera!!!" Giada was talking with someone so I patiently waited, edging my way right up to her. As soon as she was done I tapped her arm and asked if I could take a photo with her. I told her I am a huge fan, I have all her books, watch all her shows and have made many of her recipes and they are all fantastic. Yes, I was gushing, but I had just regained the power of speech (for a moment I lost it). She was very gracious and said yes to the photo and thanked me for watching. My hubby snapped a few shots, I thanked her and she moved on.

For the rest of the night I was grinning like an idiot. I was in heaven. This was truly one of the best moments of my life. Giada was just like you would want someone you were dying to meet to be like. Not at all snotty or curt. She seemed genuinely grateful to me for watching and being a fan.

This is a moment I won't soon forget.

Oh what the hell, here is the photo again.

Now I just need to get her to sign it.

And She is a Judge?

2007-11-17T11:06:00.000-05:00

Fact: Heidi Klum is beautiful.

Fact: Heidi Klum is a judge on and host of Project Runway.

Query: What the hell was she thinking wearing this?

Yes, from the front it is fine. She wore this to a Victoria's Secret party, so it is totally appropriate that it is short, sexy and sparkly. However, the rear view is a little disturbing.

Butt cleavage is NEVER ok. Sure she has the figure to work an outfit like this. And after 3 kids nonetheless. But still... Before she critiques the designers on PR, perhaps she should rethink her own choices.

One Step Closer

2007-11-16T23:55:00.000-05:00

Yes, I met Giada tonight!!!! As we were leaving the event tonight she was right in front of us. She is even prettier in person. She was very gracious when I asked to take a photo with her and thanked me for watching her shows. I was totally star struck...and still am. Remember when Marcia Brady met Davy Jones? That is exactly how I feel. I talked to her and touched her. It was beyond amazing. My legs were shaking when I saw her, I almost lost all power of speech.

I am now one step closer to cooking with her. It will happen.

Thanksgiving

2007-11-16T18:24:00.001-05:00

I love the Food Network, you all know that. I love Thanksgiving. However the combination of the two is a little too much. Every show now is focusing on Thanksgiving dinner. Here's a little advice for anyone cooking Thanksgiving dinner - if you are not a cook or have never cooked before, Thanksgiving dinner is NOT the time to start. That said, pretty much every family has their traditional family dishes. You learn how to make them over the years, that is what makes them traditional. I am all for trying new things, but Thanksgiving is not a meal to mess around with. Occasionally a change is good, like when my brother took over turkey duty and started deep frying it. This was a great change. But all these recipes for new twists on the meal is over kill and in my opinion not a good idea. Maybe change one or two things, but for the most part, leave it as is. This of course assumes your traditional meal is good. If it isn't, then go crazy and change things.

Many of the cooking shows are giving new ideas for seasoning the turkey. I say there is no need. People like the good old fashioned roasted turkey. Keep the southwest seasoning away from it.

Cranberry sauce, either open the can or make it, but when recipes start calling for things like mustard, RUN the other way.

Try one or two new side dishes, but just let the rest be.

Tomorrow

2007-11-16T15:55:00.001-05:00

I am hopeful that tomorrow I will be posting a photo of my goddess and me. Tonight is the kick off to Food Network's New York City Wine & Food Festival. Giada is slated to be one of the guests in attendance. I will keep my eyes peeled and camera at the ready. The event tonight is titled, "Sweet." It is a 4 hour dessert fest with lots of wines and champagnes to go with the munchies. I will post about it tomorrow...with a photo of me and you know who. And as I head off to meet Giada and eats lots of foods that I will have to spend extra time at the gym working off think about this: Stressed spelled backwards is desserts...coincidence? I think not.

We Wish You a Hairy Christmas

2007-11-16T14:52:00.000-05:00

As stores are already putting up holiday displays, I figured I would join the club and start putting up holiday videos. As we just met Bear Force 1, I thought I would start with their Christmas single.

I promise more holiday videos just as good as this one.

Brace Yourself

2007-11-16T14:44:00.000-05:00

I just saw a clip on Logo for an item to be discussed on their news program on Monday. It is about a new boyband. However this is not just any boy band, it is a boy band made of bears. The group is called Bear Force 1. I googled them and their site lead me to Youtube. I found two videos of theirs that I just had to share.

I don't know if they are actually singing or if they are Milli Vanilli-ing it.

It's Sew Time

2007-11-15T09:25:00.000-05:00

That is the tag line for this season's Project Runway. Season 4 of the show premiered last night. As Tim said, this group is the most talented one so far. Unlike the 3 prior seasons, this everyone competing this season is a fashion designer. It necessarily follows that the people will have more talent in this area.

I love this show. Watching the designers start with nothing, but an assignment and creating a dress in less than 24 hours is amazing. I don't always like the creations, but I can respect the talent and creativity. As long as there is some creativity. I'd rather see something hideous but truly creative than something pretty and safe. These 15 people have the chance of a lifetime. They should take advantage of it. The first challenge of the season was for each designer to create a outfit that represented his or her point of view. They had no restrictions and all the fabric they could grab. Sophie had the honor of being the first designer aufed. Why? She played it much too safe, the dress was boring and poorly constructed. The judges are often will to overlook poor construction as long as the garment rocks. Unfortunately, hers didn't.

In the "this season on Project Runway" we saw clips of what we can look forward to this season. In one clip, Tim announce that Jack, one of the designers has something to tell everyone. I am guessing that he is going to say he is HIV+. Contrary to what some think, this is not something I read as a spoiler on a blog. It is simply a guess.

Fans of the show need to check out the quintessential blog about Project Runway http://www.bloggingprojectrunway.blogspot.com/

of course is there is also Project Rungay http://projectrungay.blogspot.com/

and Project Yawnur http://projectyawnur.blogspot.com/

This season there are a lot of tattoos on the show. I can somewhat understand one, subtle one, but some of these people are covered in them. Not pretty. And what is with this season's Uber-Bitch Christian (that is his name, not a religious comment). He has this just rolled out of bed hair thing going on that you know he spends hours working on to get it "just so". His coif makes his entire head look lopsided. I didn't think his design was all that good either - it looked very 1980's to me. Retro, but not innovative. He seems to have nothing good to say about anyone but himself. Do people on reality shows not watch them? Do they have any idea how they are going to be perceived? Why on Earth anyone would want to come off as a piissy queen is beyond me.

Our same judges are back this season. It must be noted that Michael Kors is much less orange this season. It is nice to see Heidi not pregnant again. After two seasons of baby bumps, it is good to see her back to model shape. I cannot look at Nina Garcia now and not think of the Big Gay Sketch Show's parody of PR.. Check it out here, it is the second clip on the list http://www.logoonline.com/shows/dyn/big_gay_sketch_show/videos.jhtml

Of course Tim is back. Here is some advice designers, when Tim questions something about your garment, LISTEN!!! He cannot directly tell the designers what to do, but when he strongly questions something, that is his way of saying, "get rid of it." Had crunchy girl Elisa listened to him and cut the monstrous train off her dress, she would not have been in the bottom 3.

Carmen, the token black designer this season, looks like a woman, but when you hear her speak you would swear she's a man. It like like listening to Bea Arthur or Suzanne Pleschette. I would not be shocked to find out she was born a man.

The winner of last night's episode was Rami. While his dress was beautiful, it didn't seem (no pun intended) to require much in the way of sewing. He draped the fabric beautifully and understood how it worked, but it was like calling making a tossed salad cooking.

I am truly looking forward to this season. I am so happy the show is back on.

Drastic Plastic

2007-11-13T18:24:00.000-05:00

Today, Dr. Jan Adams, host of Discovery Health's Plastic Surgery Before & After, came forward as the surgeon who worked on Kanye West's mother Donda right before she passed away. If you are familiar with this show you know that Dr. Adams narrates and provides basic information on the procedures patients are getting. Only one time on the show did we actually see him operate and the results were awful. If those who can't do, teach, I guess those who can't teach, narrate. Obviously on a show displaying before and after images of plastic surgery patients, one would think the doctors would select their best outcomes. If the patient of Dr. Adams' that we saw was his best work I would hate to see his worst. Oh wait, we did, Donda West.

On today's Huffington Post information about Dr. Adams' past came to light. This is why you should thoroughly investigate your doctor. The following comes from The Huffington Post:

* According to TMZ, the medical board wanted to suspend Dr. Adams' license this past April following multiple DUI convictions. Moreover, Donda West was on the operating table for eight hours last Friday, twice as long as planned. She then went home, instead of staying in a medical facility, and died the next night. Dr. Adams is not Board Certified with the American Board of Plastic Surgery.

* Dr. Jan Adams lost two malpractice suits in 2001, according to Entertainment Tonight. He was ordered to pay judgments of $250,000 and $217,337.

* Dr. Jan Adams was sued again in June 2007 for malpractice, according to TMZ

* In December 2005, a lawsuit against Dr. Jan Adams alleged poor post operative care, false credentials and a botched tummy tuck, according to TMZ.

* Yet another lawsuit claims a botched boob job in August of 2005.

* A sixth lawsuit has been uncovered by TMZ. The plaintiff alleges that after a botched tummy tuck and arm lift, Dr. Jan Adams paid house calls. While she was medicated from the surgery and intoxicated, he told her he loved her, had sex with her and got her pregnant. That suit settled out of court.

* In another lawsuit, in October of this year, a patient who got breast implants claims Dr. Adams and Euclid Outpatient Surgery Center were responsible for "mental, physical and nervous pain and suffering" according to TMZ.

* Another lawsuit has emerged. Dr. Adams had to pay $100,000 to a woman over a botched breast augmentation, during which he left a sponge inside, reports TMZ.

I know over the course of a doctor's career he or she can be expected to be sued at least once. However, this many suits is very disturbing. This man should not be allowed to carve a turkey much less hold a scalpel. How DHC put him on the air as an expert is beyond me. What happened to background checks? All of this information should have been detected before they allowed him on the air. I hope they pull the show off the air, including reruns.

I'll Say It Again

2007-11-09T16:02:00.000-05:00

Any recipe of Giada's, if followed as written will work.

The other day I saw a rerun of Everyday Italian in which Giada makes her version of an Oreo. When I first saw the episode I thought I would try it. However, when I looked at the reviews of the recipe, they were not good. Not good at all. Lots of problems with the recipe, many people did not like the texture, and some said the cookies were too buttery. So, I passed on making them. Upon seeing the episode again, I decided, to try it anyway. But, against my better judgment, I followed the changes the reviewers suggested.

I have no clue who these people are, but their suggested changes resulted in a shortbread like cookie, not at all what it was supposed to be. These were dry and crumbly. Not horrible, but not at all what it was supposed to be. I scraped that batch and started over, following Giada's recipe. And of course, it worked fine. I experienced none of the issues these reviewers encountered. The cookies did not all spread together, they were not hard to get off the cookie sheet, they are not too buttery. I don't know who these people are, but I would be terrified to try their cooking if they think their changes helped this recipe.

Moral of the story: Giada is right. If you want to make one of her recipes, she has laid it out for you. Just do what she says and it will work. You want to tweek the seasoning to your palate, go ahead, but don't totally change the recipe if you want to make what she makes.

More on (Moron) the Boobies

2007-11-07T18:31:00.000-05:00

In my prior post about RHOC I neglected to discuss an important item. Homophobia. One would not expect such a thing to occur on a network like Bravo, but it was there on RHOC both last season and this season. It came in the form of Jeana's sons Shane and Colton. The two of them call each other gay as a way of putting the other one down.

I am all in favor of the First Amendment and I will steadfastly defend a person's right to speak freely. HOWEVER, when the speech is hate speech I draw the line. While many people would not find this offensive, imagine the uproar if these kids used the "N" word. All hell would break loose. For whatever reason, derogatory comments towards the LGBT community is still tolerated.

Making comments like these kids do is bad enough, but for Bravo to not edit them out or at least bleep them is even more offensive. Bravo is generally the most gay positive network around. So for them to air such comments is puzzling. I contacted GLAAD about this and they told me they spoke to Bravo about this same issue last season and Bravo refused to censor the comments.

I will still watch some shows on Bravo (PR starts next week!!!) but RHOC is out. Not in a gay way, but just out.

They Lie

2007-11-07T10:53:00.000-05:00

The people at Maytag lie. We all know what the Maytag Repairman is supposed to look like. However, today when I had him come to repair my microwave, he was not a 6'2" white guy in a blue uniform and cap. Instead, he was a 5'10" black guy in a black jacket and ball cap. He did a great job repairing my microwave and did it in about 3 minutes. But I was a little disappointed that he didn't look like he was supposed to. It would be like going to meet the Jolly Green Giant and finding a purple midget. At least make them wear the uniform. This is a pop culture icon. You gotta give the people what they expect.

The Fake Boobies are Back

2007-11-07T10:25:00.000-05:00

Last night was the season premier of The Real Housewives of Orange County. For those of you not familiar with this show, RHOC is a reality show following the lives of 5 housewives in Orange County, CA. This is not a good show by any stretch of the imagination, which is of course why I watch it. However, last night's premier was really bad. It is not like I cared about these women before and now I don't; I never did care about them. There was a certain train wreck aspect of the show that was addicting. Unfortunately, it was just more of the same crap last night, but worse in someways.

I am all in favor of having money and being able to buy anything you want, as long as you can afford it. These women can afford anything they want. The most tragic of the women to me is Vicki. She uses money as a way of controlling her children and then gets upset when they aren't thrilled to see her. She is not a parent by any means. Last night she bought her 20 year old daughter a new Mercedes as a present. She then was upset that her daughter wasn't as excited as she was about it. Lady, you can't buy love, no matter what the salesmen tell you. Vicki tries to control every aspect of her children's lives to the point where she told her daughter, who doesn't live at home, that she couldn't go to a concert in Washington. Hello, she is an adult. Get your own life. You wonder why your son wasn't happy to see you when you decided to surprise him at college last year and why your daughter isn't your best friend. I'll give you a little hint - YOU ARE NOT THEIR FRIEND. YOU ARE THEIR MOTHER!

All the women on this show are about as deep as a puddle. Perhaps if they were not surrounded by the opulence of the OC things would be different. However, for all of them it appears that their biggest concern is where to shop. A few of them do actually work, but it seems to be a way of filling their days. Unfortunately they are passing these "values" along to their children. Almost none of these kids show any kind of responsibility. Aside from Vicki's daughter who is in nursing school, none of these kids seem to have any plans for their future. OK, Jeana's sons are pursuing careers in professional baseball, but should that fail, they have nothing to fall back on.

While I am slightly envious of them having the ability to not worry about money, the effects of this lifestyle are truly upsetting. There is no sense of responsibility in anyone on this show. No feelings of gratitude for what they have. No recognition that they are not the norm.

I doubt I will continue to watch this season. I just am so bored with them.

No Dancing Around It

2007-11-06T10:38:00.000-05:00

Last night on Dancing with the Stars the snooty judge in the middle said to one of the dancers, "Just because you are from Brazil doesn't mean you will be good at the Samba, just like being from Texas doesn't make you a good President." I love that shows today are not pulling punches. I expect comments like this from Nora on Brothers and Sisters, but when a judge on a live show makes a comment like this, I am stunned. Thrilled, but stunned.

Television is no longer a place to escape from one's problems. When non-scripted shows start making political statements, it is time for the politicians to pay attention. Admittedly, they should have been paying attention much sooner.

The judge's comments have drawn criticism from some saying that as a visitor to the US he shouldn't be making rude comments about the President. But that is the point of living in this country, anyone is free to express their opinions. And equally as important, the man is correct.

As said on Brothers and Sisters, it is these differences of opinions that make the USA the USA. Anyone who thinks everyone should think and feel the same doesn't belong in this country.

HUGE Giada News!!!

2007-11-06T10:31:00.000-05:00

The goddess is going to have her own little sous-chef soon. Check out the article from People

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20158225,00.html

That is going to be one well fed kid.

Congrats Giada!!! Oh, and you too Todd.

Enough with the patterns

2007-10-19T14:19:00.000-04:00

So this week on ANTM the pattern I mentioned last week holds true. Two girls were spotlighted at the start of the episode - Janet and Ambreal. At the end, the final two were Janet and Ambreal. Also for those of you keeping score it was yet another ebony & ivory situation. I know that all the girls this season are either black or white, but each episode it always one black girl and one white girl. Never two white girls or two black girls. Not that it matters at all. I am merely pointing out yet another pattern that is going on this cycle.

At first I thought Heather would be one of the bottom two, but then realized she didn't have a "confessional" type chat with the camera. So I knew it couldn't it be her. However, I was a little off put by some of her comments this week. Most episodes she is shown as being very quiet and keeping to herself. This week they showed her being just as catty as all the other girls. She was very vocal about telling each girl what their "problem" was as far as modeling goes.

I would be remiss if I did not comment on Miss J's hair. Last season his schtick was adding ruffles to his clothes each week, so that by the end he looked almost like a chrysanthemum. This cycle it is apparently the size of his fro. Each week at panel all I can hear when I look at him is "ch-ch-ch-chia!" Seriously, he looks like a chia head the way it keeps growing. If we were truly as fabulous as he thinks he is, he wouldn't have to resort to gimmicks. But alas, he isn't and he does. He looks like he should be running around Tara talking about birthin' babies. I don't get it.

I have also been noticing lately that the photo of Tyra shown before each panel looks like the shoot she had the girls do that week. Where is the creativity? I know it must be hard to come up with new ideas for each episode, but Tyra is just copying shoots someone else designed. I would love to see some originality in the shoots.

We'll see if the patterns continue again next week.

Some Photos of Giada

2007-10-16T10:21:00.000-04:00

Did a little web surfing and found some awesome photos of Giada. There are no words, so enjoy.

It just Keeps Going and Going and Going

2007-10-16T09:14:00.000-04:00

What is up with Weeds this season? It started slow, but then got really good. The last two episodes have been almost painful to watch. Is it just me, or does each episode get shorter and shorter? I thought the great thing able cable series' was that if it is a 30 minute show, you get almost a full 30 minutes as opposed to broadcast stations where a 30 minute show is only 25 minutes. Last night's Weeds, including "Previously on weeds" and "next time on Weeds" was only 25 minutes.

Weeds is not the only show that does this. However on Weeds it feels more annoying because nothing is happening on the show. After 25 minutes, I feel completely unsatisfied. The show is just dragging. I have no clue why they are doing this to us. I don't need lots of action every show, but the stories have got to move a little more quickly. For the past 2 episodes, I have been stunned at the end. At the end I keep thinking, "that can't be it, nothing happened." i am really losing interest in the trials and tribulations of Nancy and the rest of the Agrestic community. If they are trying to show how Nancy is feeling or something, that is a nice gimmick, but this isn't a foreign art film. This is a sitcom. Get things moving.

What is with all these shows now doing the recap and the previews? I don't need that crap. Just show me what is happening this week. If I want to see what happens next week, I will watch it next week. Besides, I am sure I will see promos for the show all week anyway showing me the same trailers, so don't take away my actual viewing time.

Why is She Paid to Speak?

2007-10-12T11:18:00.001-04:00

Here is the latest round of hate speech from Ann Coulter. In short, she thinks the world would be better if everyone were Christian and that Jews needs to be perfected. It is truly astounding that she is allowed to speak. How she can say her remarks are not anti-semetic is startling. According to her all Christians believe themselves to be perfected Jews. I can only hope that finally she will be banned from public speaking. I am not in favor of censorship, but when it comes to hate speech, it has no place in a civilized world. Her comments a few months ago regarding gays was brushed off and political punditing. Perhaps now people will really see her for the hate monger she is.

Late Night Chat

2007-10-11T15:30:00.001-04:00

One night I was enjoying some really bad late night TV when I saw a commercial for a chat line. It was the standard, "hey meet local guys and gals" type thing, nothing extraordinary. However, one thing caught my eye. Nothing to do with the line being advertised, but rather a scene in the commercial.

Look at the handsets these two are "talking" into. Do you notice anything strange? Look at the bottom of them. Each one has a plug for the cord that would connect it to the base of the phone. They are pretending to be talking on cordless phones. I had to back this up to make sure what I saw was really there, or not there. I thought it was hysterical. I realize it is a low budget commercial, but they could have gotten cheap cordless phones somewhere. They only needed one as each person was filmed separately.

Here is a close up of the phone on the right.

Ah, the wonders of modern technology.

Have To Believe We Are Magic

2007-10-11T10:38:00.000-04:00

Private Practice last night was all about magic. Not prestidigitation, but the magical spark between two people.

All the women commiserate over the lack of magic in their lives. Naomi admits she had it with Sam. Unfortunately she is now using cake as a replacement. Cakes provided by Dell whose advice regarding women is, "find out what they want and give it to them." Apparently he has a thing for Naomi. What is truly bothersome is that Addison could have it with Pete as we all know, but she is still stuck in, "I'm a double boarded surgeon" mode and cannot see beyond that. She will sometime, but not yet. Violet could have it with Cooper as well, but she is still stuck on her ex and he needs to grow up.

I do love this show, however, I get tired of the "patient drama mirroring the doctor drama, but the doctors while helping their patients cannot do the same for themselves" situations. It is a good vehicle when subtle and not occurring all the time. Enough already. All the doctors are damaged and it is a case of physician heal thyself. But do we need to be beaten over the head with it? I think not.

A few key moments in last night's show deserve mention. First of all, Addison getting caught in the rain and complaining about how she thought she left that in Seattle. Guess what Addison, you can relocate, but all your "stuff" comes with you. I get tired of seeing her revert back to the same Addison who first came to Seattle Grace. The Addison who left was much more likeable. Super Addison is a bitch and not as interesting.

Next Pete talking to his deceased wife. The power of his statement, "You were a lousy wife and I hated you!" was astounding. We learned that he stayed in a loveless marriage and resents his wife for his choice. Pete is finally ready to let go and face his inner demons. Perhaps Addison's arrival has something to do with this.

Finally, the best line of the show comes from Addison's patient who is not able to have sex with her husband, wants to, but seriously cannot. She comes in saying, "My hoo-hah is broken!" I loved that. Of course at the end, Addison and Pete working together get her working so she and her husband can consummate their marriage and have the full magic.

I am afraid that the Addison-Pete thing may go the way of David Addison and Maddie Hayes. Once they finally get together, the magic of the show will be lost. Hopefully by having other characters around, that won't happen if and when they finally get together. Until then, there will be the constant tension between them that while over used is still fun to watch.

Model Patterns

2007-10-11T10:11:00.000-04:00

Once again last night's America's Next Top Model came down to ebony and ivory. This time it was Victoria, the Ivy Leaguer and Saleisha, the model. In the end it was Victoria who was given the boot. Seasoned viewers of the show would have been able to pick out who the final two were going to be within the first few minutes of the show.

I admit that I did not see this pattern, but my genius husband did and pointed it out after the show ended. Each episode begins with one girl making some kind of statement. This week it was Victoria talking about how up until 3 weeks ago, she never considered being a model. That set up the theme for the week - who really wants this. The next scene will be another girl saying how awesome she is and will never be at the bottom. This time it was Saleisha boasting that she will never be in the bottom two. Lo and behold at the end of the show, the bottom two were Victoria and Saleisha. Watch next week, you will see. It is like the beginning of each episode of the original Star Trek. Every show starts with a team beaming down to some planet. The team will be some composition of Kirk, Spock, Bones, Sulu, Chekov and one random crew member. Gee, who is going to get killed? This formulaic approach doesn't detract from the show as a whole, but it would be nice to not have any clue who will be the bottom two each week.

This week was also arguably the best episode of each season - the makeovers. Unfortunately unlike past seasons, no one had a melt down this time. Bianca sort of did, but that was because she had such over processed hair to begin with that they couldn't do anything but shave it off. And you know what? She looked great. She is not totally bald, but her hair is very short. Moreover, they gave her a wig styled like Tyra had initially planned for her. That is totally unfair. Bianca now gets two looks to work with. She should have to have the wig on for every shoot. By allowing her to sometimes wear it and sometimes not, she has an advantage over the other girls. Overall the makeovers were good. I think Chantal looks too much like Mina Suvari though. There was not much variety in the makeovers. Several of the girls now have long blond hair, several have short Liza or Mia hair. Saleisha ended up with a do that makes her look like a throw back to the 70's, almost china dollish. Of course at panel time the judges complained that they couldn't see her eyes in the photo. Hello, her bangs practically cover them. My girl Heather had almost nothing done to her hair. Tyra said it already was model hair. She just got some highlights and a trim.

Going back to the judges comment about Saleisha's eyes, I hate when the criticize something the model had little control over. If they don't like the pose, blame either Jay for setting the pose or Tyra for choosing that particular photo. It's not like the model had any say is what photo was used. If they want to talk about how bad a particular photo or pose is, then leave it up to the model to select the photo for panel. If Tyra picks the photo, then she has no right to say how bad it is. I think Tyra occasionally picks poor photos for some of the girls so they either learn something or get booted. Also, I am tired of them telling the models the photos were uninteresting or something to that effect. Jay directs the shoots. He tells the girls what to do. Sure the girls are supposed to take his direction and then work with it, he is still the one who sets it all up. It is almost like he and Tyra have no contact regarding shoots. Sometimes I feel like what Jay did was great, but it ends up not being what Tyra wants, and then it comes down on the model.

Nevertheless, I still love the show. Despite the formula and the sometimes contradictory actions of the "experts," I am not going to stop watching.

Oh, before I close, guess who I saw on the the street the other day? TYRA!!!! I told you all her talk show is filmed across the street from my apartment. Well the other day I am walking down 7th Ave. and she was walking along 26th St. heading back to her studio. She is stick thin, but my god is she pretty.

Forgive Me

2007-10-10T14:32:00.000-04:00

It was pointed out that for someone who wants to meet Giada, there has been very little mention of her lately on my blog. I offer my most sincere apologies to you my loyal readers and even more importantly to Giada. In an effort to rectify that situation, I have a few words on my Goddess.

If you're like me, and I know I am, I am a huge fan of the Food Network. Of course I know when my girl is on. However, the other day while looking at my channel guide I noticed Food Network changed its afternoon lineup. It used to be 4:00PM Paul Deen, 4:30 Giada, 5:00 Ina and 5:30 Sandra Lee (or fat, cleavage, fat, cleavage). However, the new schedule is 4:00 Sandra Lee, 4:30 Giada (they wouldn't dare move her), 5:00 Ina and 5:30 Paula (or a solid hour of cleavage and an hour of fat women). So now rather than her lead in being fat, unhealthy food it is marginally appealing food, tacky tablescapes and of course cocktails. The contrast in going from Sandra to Giada is actually more striking than going from Paula to Giada. Sandra is OK, but she would be much better if tied to either Quick Fix Meals with Robin Miller or 30 Minute Meals.

Personally I think there should be an all Giada, all the time channel. Today on the early broadcast of her show she was cooking with her niece. They were making gnocchi (potato pasta dumplings for those of you needing an explanation.) Giada is there cooking away while her niece, bless her heart, was totally lost. You could tell Giada wanted to banish her from the kitchen, but gritted her teeth and worked with it. I gotta say I am not a big fan of when she is cooking with someone else, except maybe her mother or Aunt Raffy. After all, the inspiration for many of dishes came from them. Well more from Raffy as her mother seems rather lost in the kitchen. Anyway, when I tune in to watch Giada, I want to see Giada doing what she does so well. I don't want to watch some bumbling person in the kitchen cooking with her when I should be the one in the kitchen with her. Yes, I admit there is a schmekin of jealousy there. I know I am neither family nor a friend...yet.

But Giada, if you are reading this please let me cook with you. Just one time.

Talk About Wide Bodies

2007-10-10T09:20:00.000-04:00

So this week on The Biggest Loser they all went to Jamaica for a week. Can you imagine being on that flight? What if you had to sit between two of the contestants? The plane wasn't the only wide body in the air.

At the resort in Jamaica we got to see Jillian and Jez get into it about drinking. I am stunned that any of the contestants would actually think of this trip as a vacation. It was a test to show them what being back in the real world will be like. In the real world they will be constantly faced with temptations and have to make smart food choices. I would have preferred it if the contestants were not supervised and then confronted with the results of their choices at the weigh in. That Jez was getting into it about wanting to drink says much about who he is. Here is this morbidly obese man on a show to lose weight, but challenging his trainer on drinking alcohol. He is so not learning a damn thing. He does not deserve to be on this show. And, I really want them to stop showing him without a shirt on. It looks like someone let the air out of his body. He will likely be on Dr. 90210 for a full body lift someday.

The Black team won the challenge this week, but at weigh in time, they lost. FINALLY. During the entire weigh in Jillian looked so damn smug. There was palpable tension in the air during the weigh in between Kim and Jillian. So when Kim's Red Team won the weigh in I wanted her to get in Jillian's face about it. Those two are going to have it out soon. I would pay to watch them fight. Unfortunately I think Jillian would probably kill Kim. She is crazy, and crazy always wins.

At elimination, the Black Team ended up sending one of the twins, Jim, home. Huge mistake! Huge! They don't get how to play this game. In the early elimination, you don't want to get rid of the people losing the most weight. You want to keep them around. If you get rid of your bigger losers, you have a better chance of ending up back in the elimination room again. Until you get rid of 2 or 3 people, you keep the bigger losers and get rid of the people losing less weight. Jez should have been the one to go. He has a bad attitude toward the whole process and is not losing much weight. I so want the Black Team to be back in the elimination room again next week.

They Ain't the Waltons

2007-10-08T12:32:00.000-04:00

How much do I love the Walkers? They are amazing!

Last night's Brothers & Sisters was great. This show just keeps getting better and better. First I'll cut right to the resolution of the cliff hanger. Justin did not get killed in Iraq. Although that would have been a great way for them to launch into more anti-war moments, he returned home with a serious injury to his knee. Justin needs major physical therapy and was given a nerve block to stem the pain. He refused any pain medication because of his problems with drugs and alcohol. Brave, but insanely stupid. When the block wore off, Justin was in excruciating pain. This is going to make for some big dramatic moments as the season progresses.

To prepare for Justin's return home, Nora studied a book that gave advice on how to welcome home wounded soldiers. Unfortunately, most of what she did only served to upset Justin. There is going to be some serious readjustment for the Walker household with Justin's return.

Rebecca kept a promise she made to Justin before he left for Iraq. She promised that before Justin returned from Iraq, she would tell Sarah that she encouraged Joe to kiss her. Unfortunately she told Sarah too late. Joe had already told Sarah he wanted a divorce and he was back with his ex-wife. Sarah told Rebecca that her news might have helped a few months sooner, but now it was too late. She added that the only reason Rebecca said anything now was to assuage her own guilt, and as Sarah put it, "that is the most selfish reason of all." Rebecca went home to talk to Holly who told her that Joe & Sarah were doomed long before Rebecca entered the picture. Holly also said she was the last person to pass any judgment on Rebecca being tempted to get involved with a married man. After all, had she not been involved with a married man, she would not had Rebecca who would then not have been able to kiss her half-sister's husband.

One of the outstanding moments of the show was Kitty's call into the Rush Limbaugh type radio show host who attacked her family. He called Nora treasonous and passed judgment on Senator McAllister's brother and Kevin dating. The typical conservative diatribe. Unfortunately Kitty was listening to the show with Nora and Kevin. Kitty got off a great speech about how he spun everything to serve his purpose and distorted the truth beyond all recognition. It was a great moment for Kitty and amazing acting for Calista Flockhart. To remedy the damage Kitty & Co. did to his campaign, Kitty booked the Senator on the show. During his time, he said that while he may not always agree with the Walker's it is that disagreement that reminds him that there are more people and positions in this country than his own. That anyone who had problems with differing views should seriously consider whether they actually belong in this country.

This show is awesome!!!! In that one moment, McAlliser, played by conservative Rob Lowe, completely exposed the vocal conservative moment for what it is. Nothing more than people who have problems with anyone not like them. This country is made up of many different opinions and views, so for any one group to chastise anyone who has different opinions is really the one who is truly anti-American.

It is going to be a long wait to see the Walkers again next week.

Secrets, Lies & Key Lime Pies

2007-10-08T09:19:00.000-04:00

What a night on Wisteria Lane.

Edie is blackmailing Carlos into marrying her. Hey Edie, if you have to coerce someone into marrying you, you are beyond desperate. You are just sad. Carlos should have just let her hang. The question now is, who was that guy Carlos paid and what did he pay him to do? Is he plotting to have Edie killed? For someone with a prison record, that would be very bad if it backfired on him. Maybe he was paying an accountant to move the money from the Cayman's to a new location where Edie won't find it. I am getting tired of Edie. Enough already. You're a self serving bitch, with no feelings for anyone but yourself. You are a borderline sociopath. They need to get her off the show already.

Gabby was great last night. The scene between her and Lynette in the hospital was fantastic. We saw a side of Gabby never seen before as well as some amazing acting from Eva Longoria. At first I was worried that the Gabby not volunteering to sit with Lynette during chemo would be like when Charlotte didn't offer to loan Carrie money on Sex and the City. However, rather than stemming from fear of losing a friendship, Gabby was simply scared. She didn't want to have to be brave in front of Lynette like she had to be when her father was dying when she was 5. At first we are lead to believe that Gabby doesn't truly consider Lynette a friend. However, the reality is that she probably loves Lynette more than she does Susan or Bree. I think in many ways, Gabby views Lynette as a mother figure as well as a close friend. She is so scared of losing Lynette, that Gabby didn't want to see her in the hospital.

The mystery of Karen's departure and return to Wisteria Lane grows more intriguing. Bree overheard enough last night to learn that Karen is hiding something really big. And not just from the ladies of the lane, but from her own daughter as well (if that really is her daughter). We saw in Susan's flashback (featuring Mary Alice) that Karen's departure was unannounced and seemingly suspect. Karen says she got a last minute job offer in Chicago and the family had to leave immediately. As she is shutting the door, we hear something break inside the house. In the present, Susan asked Karen how the job went and Karen doesn't know what job she is talking about. Susan explains that she meant the one Karen left for and then a light bulb went on for Karen and she gave a lame answer.

The civil fight between Karen and Bree for best homemaker on Wisteria Lane is awesome. Bree has never been challenged on her baking skills before, but now Karen is determined to destroy that. I am hoping for an Alexis-Crystal style fight between these two soon. You can tell Bree wants to beat the crap out of Karen and Karen wants nothing more than to be seen as the new Queen of Wisteria Lane. Where Bree is polite to a fault, Karen gives the impression of being polite, but in realty, she is a cunning bitch - even more than Bree has been in the past.

This season holds a great deal of promise. I hope it continues.

Less Than Model Behavior

2007-10-04T08:38:00.000-04:00

The third episode of America's Next Top Model and things continue to get worse. The episode started out with some of the girls practicing their runway walk for one another. Bianca in her little confessional moment admits that she is giving the other girls bad advice so that she can win. If she is so confident that she will win this cycle, as she claims, then there is no need for her to sabotage the other girls. After all, Tyra will see what a great model Bianca is regardless of how well any of the other girls do. Right? Remember Bianca, what comes around goes around. You have to pay your dues before you get to be a Janice Dickinson or Naomi Campbell type diva. Right now you are just an 18 year old girl in a competition. Bianca and Saleisha got into it once again and Bianca quipped, "check your thighs in the mirror." Again, if she is so sure she will win, Bianca has no need to fight with anyone.

When it came for the judges deliberations at the end of the show, they all agreed that Bianca looked angry in her photo. When in front of the panel to discuss her photo, Bianca even said that she was told to focus on one emotion so she chose anger because that is easy for her. Ring! Ring! Clue phone! You need to be able to tap into more than just your anger to be a model.

One of the best lines of the night came from Kimberly from Ocala, Florida. The girls are talking about the photo shoots and how to pose. Kimberly says that she has no experience in front of a camera, but, "basically my dad's been taking pictures of me my whole life." Now, I am sure she didn't mean this in a creepy way, but still it sounds very creepy.

The lesson of the week was how to walk. The girls met up with Miss J in an old mental hospital. He was dressed as a nurse. The girls put on straight jackets and then had to walk for Miss J. He critiqued each of them. Bianca of course thought she rocked it, but she didn't.

The challenge for the week carried over from the lesson. The girls were in a fashion show for designer Colleen Quen. The winner, the girl who Colleen thought did the best job, would be invited to model in Colleen's Paris debut fashion show. Some of the dresses were quite tight so that walking in them was very difficult. Once again, Bianca thought she did great, but the winner was Saleisha. She kicked ass on this one. However, I will say that Heather did an amazing job as well. Bianca was pissed that Saleisha won and in her confessional said that she did a better job than Saleisha. Um, no you didn't. If you had, you would have won. A little humility might help you pumpkin.

For the photo shoot, the girls had to pose while climbing a rock wall. The best moment of this was Saleisha saying, "I gave it my all. I bent over and put my leg up." Damn!

At the judging Miss J looked like Shirley from What's Happening? He was sporting a 70's short fro. I am really over him this season. Enough already. He is a caricature of himself at this point. I don't like that he has a bigger role this season.

The winner this week was Jenah. She took an incredible photo. She had the advantage of having been a rock climbing instructor for 2 years so she was totally at ease during the shoot and she worked it. Second place went to Heather. I think she will go very far in this competition. At the end it was once again Ebony & Ivory. Only this time it wasn't actually Ebony. The bottom two were Bianca and Kimberly. Kimberly was sent home. I am sure that Bianca making for better viewing did not impact the decision at all.

Overall, I think the models this season are the best ones yet. The girls must be paying attention to the prior cycles and learning from them.

Next week is the make over show. YAY!!! Lots of drama will happen.

Sibling Drama

2007-10-03T11:46:00.000-04:00

Why Brothers & Sisters didn't win the Emmy for Best Dramatic Series is beyond me. Well, the pity vote for Sopranos explains it. Brothers & Sisters rocks!!! The season premier was incredible. It is hard to believe this is only the second season of the show.

I love that this show has an openly gay man in a committed relationship. Kevin is not the sexless gay man like the Queer Eye guys or even Will Truman. They are not afraid to show two men kiss on this show. Snaps to the writers and producers for doing that. And snaps to Matthew Rhys for his awesome portrayal of Kevin. A straight Welsh actor playing a gay American man. I had no clue he was straight and Welsh. He is amazing. As for his character of Kevin, he is dating his conservative sister's fiance's brother. The best part of that scenario is that it shows conservatives who are willing to go against their party's view of gays. Unlike so many of the conservatives in the real world who are against equal rights despite having gay or lesbian children. Are you paying attention Mr. Cheney?

On the other side of the closet door from Kevin is Uncle Saul Holden, Nora's brother. He is so closeted that he can't even admit to himself that he is gay. A friend from his past appeared last season and again in this season's premier. It is clear that Saul is a big mo, but so terrified to admit it. We don't know if he and this friend had a romantic or physical relationship yet. Hopefully Saul will be more explored this season (no pun intended)

This show pulls no punches when it comes to politics. The anti Iraq war sentiment is very clear. Not an episode goes by with out Nora railing against the war. In the season premier we find her afraid to leave the house in case Justin should call. When we later find out his platoon was attacked by an I.E.D. and we don't know if he is alive Nora, like any mother, collapses. It is no wonder Sally Field won the Emmy. Her portrayal of a soldier's mother is engulfing. You really believe she has a child in the war. So now the big question is whether Justin is alive. The scenes for next week make it look like he died. That would suck. Not only for the Walker family, but also for Dave Annable who plays Justin. To be on the first season of a hit show and then get killed off on the premier of the second season, tough break. But if he is dead, maybe he'll be like the mom on Providence and show up for private talks with his family members.

So far this season is off to a great start. I hope they keep it up. Sunday night is the night for TV.

Not So Deperate Yet

2007-10-03T11:34:00.001-04:00

The season premier of Desperate Housewives renewed my love of this show. Last season it was getting boring. I hope they will continue the momentum that started this week.

Will Gabby and Carlos get together, or is Edie's blackmailing going to bind Carlos to her? Knowing the goings on on Wisteria Lane, I am sure something will happen to end Edie's hold on him. If I were Carlos, I would immediately transfer all my cash out of the Cayman account and into a Swiss bank account or something. Just move the damn money and then get away from Edie.

The big mystery this season is Kim Delaney. What is the deal with her daughter. Is that really her daughter? Did her real daughter die and she kidnapped this one and that is why she has no recollection of life on Wisteria Lane? This new neighbor is the best new one so far. I love that she is acting like the queen of the neighborhood even though she was gone for 12 years. I'm sorry, but a 12 year absence makes you the new one when you return. You have lost your right to call Bree, Lynette and Gabby new. She and Bree are sure to butt heads, the tree issue will likely be the least of the conflicts there.

Speaking of Bree, I loved it when she threated the old lady in the department store who wanted to touch her "belly." Why do people feel they have a right to touch a woman's belly when she is pregnant. If you did it any other time, it would be unbelievably inappropriate. Pregnancy should not affect that. You ask permission and if the expectant mom says no, you walk away. Bree should have decked the old bat who wouldn't take "no" for an answer. No means no people.

And speaking of pregnant..SUSAN!!! Holy crap! Didn't see that one coming. What is it with this show and women in their 40's getting pregnant? Admittedly Bree isn't really pregnant, but still... The question now is who is the father, Mike or Ian? Will she even tell Ian she is preggers?

Best scene of the night in my opinion was Lynette throwing up in a strangers purse. Brilliant!

Time to Cut The Fat

2007-09-29T16:12:00.000-04:00

Dear Suzy,

Why did they feel the need to make The Biggest Loser a plus size episode this week? If they would stop replaying the 30 seconds before the break after the break, it would be a shorter show. Also, stop recapping the entire series, let alone this season. I'm watching. I am not suffering from short term memory loss. I can remember what happened 2 minutes ago as well as what happened a week ago. This show needs some serious help in the editing department.

Luvyameanit,

Bob

This week the reward challenge had each person go into a room alone for 4 minutes. In the room were tables heaped with high calorie food. Everything from chicken wings to m&m's. It was a pig out feast! Whoever ate the most calories would win an additional 3 pounds added to their weight lost that week. Isabeau didn't eat anything, but played a trick on everyone by putting a dab a frosting on the corner of her mouth so they would think she ate. The real drama involved the Blue team. They had all agreed that Neil, the largest person on the team, would eat a lot and no one else on the team was to eat. We saw him scarfing down mass quantities of food, including swallowing an entire bowl of m&m's. In 4 minutes he ate 1500 calories. Unfortunately, Patty, one of his team mates didn't think he actually ate, so when it was her turn, she ate 1700 calories. INSANE!!! Although they won the challenge there was a lot of fighting going on. Even Bob got in on it and told Patty how stupid she was for doing that. However, when the final weigh-in occurred, Patty was the biggest loser for the Blue team this week, even without the additional 3 pound loss. So even if her team wanted to vote her off, they couldn't.

As you can tell from that last sentence, the Blue team lost the weigh-in. In a turn of events, Kim's Red team, who has lost the 2 prior weigh-in won this week. Jillian was not happy at not winning, but she was not as pissed as Bob who lost to both Kim and Jillian. There is definitely some non-friendly competition going on between Bob and Jillian. Maybe because the winners of the first two seasons were from her team? I get the feeling that she hasn't yet let Bob forget this.

The second challenge this week was a race. One member from each team had to run 100 yards. The team with the most winners would be allowed to call home. However, they were not only racing one another, but also a surprise guest. They brought in a 5th grade girl, a 4th grade boy and a kindergarten boy to race them. In all there were 3 races, one against each kid. The girl and the little boy both won their heats, no problem. In fact they totally smoked the adults. In the 4th grade heat, Phil won, but barely. So the Red team won this week again.

As I said, the Blue team lost the final weigh in this week. In the end, they sent Jerry home. Big mistake. He was the biggest loser on their team for 2 weeks in a row. They kept Ryan who has the most to lose and yet only lost 3 pounds this week. Bob is going to be pissed when he finds out what happened.

As for the Black team. Jillian is training them using the skills challenged in the competition on prior seasons. Very smart. She is the toughest trainer there, but interestingly on the follow-up shows, there are always more Blues than Reds. Jillian's program, while good in a vacuum does not work in the real world. It is not sustainable. Bob's is more adaptable to a real world situation. So, even if Jillian's team loses more on the show, Bob's team will keep more of it off.

I like having the 3 teams, but if this horrible editing continues, I may stop watching. Either make it a half hour show, or put in more material. Don't replay what I just saw. It isn't building suspense. It is pissing me off.

Grey's Anatomy Gets the Blues

2007-09-29T15:56:00.000-04:00

What a disappointment the season premier of Grey's turned out to be. Oh how the mighty have fallen. Our interns are now residents with interns of their own. All except George that is who failed the intern exam and has to repeat the year.

Meredith learns that her half-sister Lexie is one of the new interns. She also finds out that she is the girl Derek met in the bar a few weeks prior. Upon learning this, Meredith says, "I'm the girl in the bar!" Deep Meredith, very deep. Derek and Meredith finally break-up but not with out break-up sex.

Christina learns that Burke has resigned from the hospital. She keeps saying she is fine, but we know she is about to crack.

The George, Izzy, Callie triangle continues. Izzy is mopey because she told George she loves him and he then disappeared for over 2 weeks. Callie is trying to get close to George, but he keeps pushing her away. In the end of the episode, George tells Izzy he loves her too. (A little note here: T.R. Knight looks awesome this season. He has lost some of the baby fat and is much more handsome than he was last season).

Bailey is pissed at Chief for not making her Chief Resident and keeps reminding Callie that she is not doing a good job as Chief Resident. The Chief confronts Bailey and explains that he didn't give her the job because she is a surgeon and should be operating, not dealing with paperwork and scheduling issues. He did it as a favor to her. Eventually she will accept this, but right now, she is pissed.

Until the last few scenes of the episode, I was completely bored. There was nothing to hold my attention. The last scenes in which Derek and Meredith break up and do it and when George tells Izzy he loves her definitely had me paying attention. Whether the show can keep me for a season remains to be seen.

Interestingly, no one mentioned that Addison was gone.

Private Practice

2007-09-29T15:35:00.000-04:00

Dr. Addison Montgomery Sheppard has left Seattle Grace for Oceanside Wellness Center in sunny Santa Monica. I love this show!!! It is infinitely more interesting than Grey's Anatomy.

This week was the official premier of Private Practice. Last season there was a special 2 hour Gray's in which Addison runs away from Seattle to Santa Monica and gets offered a job by her friend Naomi. This episode was all about the practice Addison joined. The doctors are Naomi, a fertility doctor, her ex-husband Sam, an internist, Pete, the holistic healer, Violet the shrink, Cooper, the pediatrician and Dell, the receptionist who is studying to be a midwife (eventhough he is a man). Naomi failed to tell anyone in the practice that she hired Addison to be their new Ob-Gyn. Of course the staff is pissed and Addison is embarrassed. In the end of course it works out.

The characters on this show rock. Violet is stalking her now married ex-boyfriend, Cooper hooks up with women on the internet who end up robbing him, Pete is the hottie of the show and the subject of much sexual tension with Addison and Dell is the eye candy with a brain. Not only are the characters awesome, but the actors who portray them are great too. We already know how amazing Kate Walsh is. In addition to her there is 3-time Tony winner Audra McDonald, Taye Diggs, Tim Daly and Amy Brenneman.

In the premier episode, Addison does an emergency c-section saving both the mother and baby's lives, with Pete perform acupuncture to block any pain, Violet helping a patient who is having a complete breakdown in a department store on her knees counting floor tiles. Violet is assisted by Cooper. And Naomi and Sam convince a hospital to allow them to withdraw sperm from a man who had a stroke (no pun intended) while making a deposit to inseminate his girlfriend.

That each thing the doctors face mirrors some form of problem in his or her own life is a little hokey, but it works. Sort of the physician heal thyself thing. This is likely to be a huge hit if they can keep up the good writing. Watch this show. Wednesday on ABC.

ANTM 2nd Show and the Gloves Are Off

2007-09-29T15:11:00.001-04:00

What a week for the stupid girls. They had their first real photo shoot and first real challenge. For the challenge, they were given 15 minutes to run wild in Old Navy to pick an outfit that would be appropriate for panel. The judges would pick the winner at panel. For the photo shoot, Tyra has decided to use this season as a pubic forum. In addition to the girls living in a "green" house, this first shoot was to show the dangers of smoking. Each girl was shot twice (not in the Cheney kind of way). The first shot was of the girl looking elegant while smoking. The second was a "reflection" highlighting one of the dangers of smoking. The make up for the second shots was amazing. They had rotting teeth, trach tubes, cancer, etc. I suspect Tyra was tired of this show being a joke in some ways, so she is trying to make it more serious.

During the photo shoot, Bianca got all up in Lisa's grill. She said there was no way a stripper would ever become America's next top model. The verbal sparring was nasty. There was no reason for it to have happened, but for Bianca being a bee-yoch. Is there anyone named Bianca who isn't one? The girls made up later in the episode, but still, for them to be at each other by the second week is scary. I am sure there will be many more sparks flying this season.

Also during the shoot, Mila's reflection was supposed to be someone with cancer, going through chemo and her hair was falling out. Mila couldn't stop laughing. She thought it was funny. She was completely unable to take it seriously or imagine what it would be like to go through this. Jay was not pleased at all.

After the shoot, we see some of the girls in the hot tub at the house. And what is that beside them? Lo and behold! A pack of cigarettes. How someone could smoke is already beyond me. But to do it right after being confronted with such ghastly images of the dangers of smoking?!?

One girl I love this season is Heather. She has Asperger's Syndrome. She is struggling against the social anxiety disorders that come with the condition. Here she is forced to live in a house with 12 strangers while living with a condition that makes social interactions incredibly hard for her. All the other girls talk about her behind her back saying how weird she is. No one is shown to even try to get to know her or understand what is going on for her. My hat is off to Heather. As hard as this competition may be for the others, it is infinitely harder for her.

At panel, Saleisha won the challenge. When it came time to assessing the girls' photos, Heather was selected as the winner!!! Yay Heather!!!!!! The final two were Ebony and Ivory. Seriously, it was Ebony and Mila. But Ebony and Ivory sounded better. Anyway, at the end, Mila was sent packing. And then there were 12.

Bionic Rejection

2007-09-29T14:41:00.001-04:00

Anyone who watched the original Bionic Woman will remember when THE Jamie Summers' body was rejecting the bionics and how much pain she was in. I was so worried that she was going to die. This week saw the premier of a new Bionic Woman series. I reject it.

Let's compare the two shows:

Original: Jaime (yes, it was spelled this was in the show because in one episode Linsday Wagner carves Steve + Jaime into a tree and rather than reshoot the scene with her spelling it correctly they, they change the spelling for the rest of the series)

New: Jamie

Original: Jaime is blond.

New: Jamie is brunette.

Original: Jaime is dating Steve Austin (The Six Million Dollar Man). She is in a sky diving accident and Steve has Rudy Wells and Oscar Goldman save her life by making her bionic like him. She gets 2 legs, an arm and a bionic ear.

New: Jamie is dating a scientist named Will. They are in a car accident (which was no accident but rather the first bionic woman created by this new team who went bad) and Will makes Jamie bionic to save her life. Will himself does the neurosurgery. She gets 2 legs, an arm and ear and an eye.

Original: Jaime has to go through physical therapy to learn to use her new parts.

New: No real adjustment period. She is up and running in a few days.

Original: Jaime was a tennis pro (but retires after becoming bionic an moves to Ojai, CA. Moves in with Steve Austin's parents and becomes a teacher when not working for the OSI)

New: Jamie is a bartender.

Original: Jaime has no problem working for the OSI

New: Jamie is not sure if she will work for the team that created the bionic technology.

Original: Show is light and campy. OSI are the good guys.

New: Show is very dark. The group with the bionic technology is clandestine and it seems they want to use bionics to create soldiers.

Original: Fembots

New: Another bionic woman, Sarah Corvus

It is bad enough that Hollywood writers are not creative enough to come up with new ideas for shows and recreate old ones. It is even worse that they took a perfectly amazing show and ruined it in this resurrection. This is not The Bionic Woman.

Raw Video: San Diego Mayor Sanders Supports Gay Marriage

2007-09-28T18:25:00.001-04:00

Although this is not a political blog by any means and this video is not about TV, I think it is important that everyone see it. Mayor Sanders may have committed polical suicide, but he will be remembered as a hero. Unfortunately people will point out that he broke campaign promises. However, name one politician in recent history who hasn't. At this was a promise that needed to be broken as was for all the right reasons.

New Episodes?!?

2007-09-23T21:06:00.000-04:00

Dear Network Executives,

Every Fall viewers tune in to watch the new season of their favorite shows. When you advertise the season premier date, we expect to see a NEW episode. An episode of clips from the past seasons of a show is not new. It is a recap. Recap as in review. You cannot be both a review and a new show at the same time. If you want to argue semantics, technically this particular arrangement of clips is new, but come on. I know you are trying to get new viewers and this is a good way to do it. I mean, it's not like you weren't showing reruns all summer, or viewers could watch on the internet.

A new episode should be 100% all new stuff. Do not call a show a season premier and then show us the things we have already seen. That is a quick way to lose viewers, not keep them. Tonight was the "season premier" of both Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters. However, they were recap shows. Do that over the summer or during the holidays. Do not do it as a season premier. What is wrong with you people? I mean seriously. Do you think we wouldn't notice they weren't actually new episodes?

Please, on behalf of all TV fans everywhere, I beg you, stop with the recap and reviews. Make more new episodes rather than filling the time with stuff we've already seen.

Thank you.

Food for Thought

2007-09-21T10:58:00.000-04:00

I haven't said much about the food network lately. So I thought I would share yet another observation of my favorite channel. Often times, the recipe and methods we see on a show, do not match the written recipe on the website. If you ever see a recipe on a show that looks interesting to you, I strongly advise you read the reviews of the recipe of the food network website. People who have tried the recipe will likely have posted about any difference between the show and the website and offered their suggestions on what to do. Moreover, sometimes you will find out that a recipe just doesn't work as it did on the show. That has happened to me a few times with Paula Deen's recipes. She has a "whoopie pie" recipe that looked good, so I tried it. Total disaster. The devil's food cakes were gray and never spread. The filling tasted awful. Unfortunately I didn't know to check the reviews first. After my failed effort, I looked the at the reviews. Everyone had the same issues I did. Be advised, compare the website recipe to the one on the show and read the reviews before you do any cooking.

Torchwood

2007-09-21T10:36:00.000-04:00

BBC has launched a new show this season, Torchwood. It is part Dr. Who, part X-Files, and part Angel. Torchwood is a team of 30-somethings led by the enigmatic, ever-watchful Captain Jack Harkness. They use scavenged alien technology to solve present day crime - both alien and human. They’re separate from the government, working outside the police and beyond the United Nations. From an underground base built on a rift in time and space, Torchwood sets its own rules, delving into the unknown and fighting the impossible whether it is responding to an alien threat, sightings of extra-terrestrial technology, an unusual autopsy report, or the spread of a deadly alien virus.

Captain Jack is played by openly gay actor John Barrowman. I love that an openly gay man is cast as the lead in a series. Captain Jack's sexuality is rather ambiguous. He's neither gay, straight or bi. He's more pan-sexual. He is very private about his private life and ambivalent to sexual boundaries. I think Captain Jack is more of a mystery than anything else we will see on the this show. As for actor John Barrowman, he is HOT!!! There is a certain Tom Cruise look to him, but where I don't think Tom is cute at all, John is a cutie for sure.

The rest of the Torchwood team consists of Gwen, a new recruit fresh from the police force; Suzi, the second in charge; Owen, the team's scientist and medic; Toshiko the technical genius; and Ianto, the "Alfred" of the team.

Torchwood promises to be an action packed thrill ride filled with personal drama as well as danger. I am looking forward to seeing how the show shapes up. So far in the first episode Owen used an alien spray to attract a straight couple into bed with him and Gwen had a make out session with a woman whose body was being taken over by an alien life force that fed off orgasmic energy (she would hook up with a guy and just as he orgasmed the alien would absorb the man's life force and he would be reduced to a pile of ash.)

With all that goes on, the mystery of Jack's life will be the biggest challenge of all.

Super Model

2007-09-21T10:10:00.000-04:00

Yes, ANTM is back. The premier episode began with 33 girls and by the end, the final 13 were selected to be this cycle's competitors. This show was much like every cycle's first episode. However, this time they started out on the Royal Caribbean Adventure of the Seas. Miss Jay had them do a runway walk competition, the girls had one on three interviews with Tyra, Miss J and Jay. So, there is nothing to really discuss as far as what actually happened on the show.

This does not mean there is nothing to discuss though. First of all, I don't get why all the girls start crying when Tyra shows up. I've been watching this show for several cycles now. I know Tyra will be there. These girls must know Tyra is going to be there. So why are they so shocked? Oh that's right, the script tells them to act that way. This time, Tyra's entrance was on stage as a showgirl, feathered headdress and all. She did a breathy talking-singing number about searching for America's Next Top Model. Very hokey. But, she looks great.

The names this season are insane. Among the girls are Saleisha, Spontaniouse, Ebony, Ambreal and Marvita. They didn't all make it into the final 13 though. Spontaniouse and Marvita are not in the 13.

During the deliberations, when the Jays and Tyra are discussing the pluses and minuses of each girl, in reference to one girl Tyra says, "every now and then you get a clunky walker and it works." The screen then showed a photo of a current top model who is apparently a clunky walker. I didn't recognize the name, so I can't say who it was.

Tyra was not the only person with some good lines during this show. Let's review some of the best quotes.

Ebony: Let's play a game and see who has an eating disorder.

Marvita (in reference to Ebony): I don't want to fight her, I just want to slap the hell out of her.

Mila: I know stuff. I read books.

Ebony: Girls just don't like me. (With that statement, she assured herself a place in the final 13).

Miss Jay about Ambreal: She's tall but she looks short.

I don't recall who said this one, but: When pretty girls have stanky attitudes it irks me.

I have no doubt there will be lots of drama and fighting this season. Get out your heels, purge, and pull up a seat on the runway. There will be lots to talk about soon.

I am calling Chantal the winner. We will know in 12 weeks.

Tell Me Lies, Tell Me Sweet Little Lies

2007-09-18T08:39:00.000-04:00

HBO's new series Tell Me You Love Me examines the lives of three couples as they move through different stages of their lives. There is Jamie and Hugo, a 20-something couple who are engaged, but rather than develop an intimate relationship with one another, they use sex to avoid talking. Next is Katie and David 40-somethings who have been married for 10 years and definitely love one another, but they have not had sex in a year. Finally there is Carolyn and Palek a 30something couple who have been trying to get pregnant for over a year.

There is also a 4th couple on the show, Mary and Arthur Foster. Mary is a therapist and Arthur is retired. They've been together 42 years. Mary provides couples counseling to Carolyn and Palek who during the first session we see tell her everything is great, even though it isn't. During the second session Palek finally admits they are having problems brought on by the strain of trying to conceive a child. Carolyn gets upset that he would say that and leave the session. Um, isn't that what you are supposed to do at couples counseling, bring up the bad stuff and work it out? But I digress, Mary also counsels Katie who is so out of touch with her own body, that she cannot even masturbate despite knowing she is alone and no one can see her. I believe Jamie will be next of Mary's couch to deal with her break up with Hugo and trying to get on with her life. Obviously Hugo is not completely out of the picture as the show is about 3 couples, not 2 couples and a single.

Mary and Arthur have their own issues. So far what they are has not been completely revealed, but it does have something to do with someone from their past. Possibly someone Mary cheated on Arthur with.

There is a lot of sex on this show, except from Katie and David that is. Although we did see David jerk off in the first episode. The sex is pretty graphic. Nothing is suggested, it is all right there to see. It is more graphic than Skinemax or Showtime After Dark. It is difficult to believe there is no penetration going on. One scene is filmed so you see Hugo and Jamie doing the deed. Jamie is on her back, Hugo is on top and the scene is shot from behind so you see his butt flexing and even see his twins hanging down. We even see Mary and Arthur having sex. It ain't always pretty, but it is more real than porn sex.

This show is raw. The characters raw emotions are right there for all to see. There is no subtext or suggestion of feelings. At times I find the show uncomfortable to watch because of this raw look at humanity. However, I can appreciate the show for the risks it takes by being so bold.

Weeds is Back

2007-09-18T08:17:00.000-04:00

Another great episode of weeds last night. Nancy's only way out of the situation with U-Turn was for him to die. At the moment he held her by her throat against the wall, I knew a heart attack was coming. I suspect steroid related. He was just too angry all the time. The question now is, what will Nancy do? Will Marvin take over and make her work for him? Will she manage to get back in Halia's good graces and work with Conrad again? What about the trunk full of heroin in the laundry room? What will happen to that? Fine, it is more than one question.

And how about Mary-Kate Olsen as Tar? I loved her as the pot smoking Jesus freak. It was great to see her have a role separate and apart from sister Ashley. Also, what a break away from her other TV role as Michelle Tanner on Full House. Not that the role of a weird druggie is a stretch for her, but still she did the part well. A pot smoking, Jesus freak, slut who won't go all the way working at a senior center calling Bingo. I would say you can't make that stuff up, but obviously the writers of Weeds did. Well done. As part of this whole story line, I loved Silas selling pot to the old man playing bingo. Just hearing the old man say, "fuck the sales pitch, will it fuck me up?" was awesome. Later Tara and Silas talking and smoking was a brilliant scene. Tara's explanation that pot is all natural, created by God so it is like communing with God was priceless. If all religious services included partaking of the herb, there would likely be less religious conflict in the world. Just a thought. Here is how it went down:

The "triangle" that is emerging between Doug, Bill and Celia is getting interesting. Doug played softball and only got a golf membership. Celia played hardball and got a house. Now Doug is jealous and is interfering with the sewer line that he supported to get his membership. What a baby. Doug, you made a bad deal in comparison, but it is what you asked for, grow up and live with it.

I wonder what film is going to be shot in Celia's new home? I suspect a film of the adult nature. Bill is such a slimeball that I wouldn't be shocked if he rented out the house to a porn studio for a week. Moreover, Celia's reaction to moving into a home where a porno was shot would be excellent. Plus Andy catering the shoot. I think he would find a new career.

Finally I am looking forward to the next episode.

Tim, Martha and Alexis

2007-09-17T13:43:00.001-04:00

Macy's had a series of great ads running during the Emmys featuring all the celebs who have a line a Macy's. The ads included Usher, Kimora, Kenneth Cole, Jessica Simpson and Tyler Florence. However, the best one featured Tim Gunn, Alexis Stewart and Martha Stewart.

Sally Uncensored!

2007-09-17T10:35:00.000-04:00

The Primetime Emmy Awards

2007-09-17T09:24:00.000-04:00

I am not a fan of award shows. In what other profession do the workers make the kind of money stars make and then on top of that, get awards they give themselves?!? My one exception is the Tony awards. I like seeing the production numbers from the best musical nominees. Anyway, I watched the Emmy's last night and was reminded why I really don't like award shows.

This year, instead of a stage, the Shrine Auditorium was set up like a theater in the round. This means that at any give time, half the audience was only seeing the backs of the presenters and winners. Moreover, this set detracted from the event. With a stage, there is more formality and glamor. With the set there was no moment of the winner ascending the stage, the entire thing was more casual.

This year's host was Ryan Seacrest. In a word, he sucked. I don't like him on American Idol. As host of the Emmys he was awful. The man is not funny and he makes anything he says seem sleazy. At one point he came out wearing a Henry VIII costume and remaked, "this didn't look as gay on the hanger." For anyone to make a comment like that is bad enough, but coming from a screaming closet case is worse. I hope this is his last hosting gig.

One of the worst moments of the night was the duet between Tony Bennett and Christina Aguilera. They attempted to sing, "Steppin' Out." Tony is ancient at this point and can barely move. I'm already not a fan of his, so having to listen to him was hard to begin with. Then there is Christina. I will give her props for looking good and not like an STD waiting to be caught. However, she tried to give this old standard a poppy feel. Bad idea. Very bad. She and Tony were singing at two completely different tempos. When Tony sang, the verses were the standard tempo, when Christina sang, she made up her own tempo. This was a train wreck of a performance. Whoever thought this would be a good idea should be fired.

Another train wreck during the show occurred twice. Robert Duvall should not be allowed to speak in public unscripted ever again. He was rambling like a senile old man each time he received an award. One would think that after his first acceptance speech he wouldn't have much to say for his second one. WRONG! He managed to fill up the entire time alloted without saying a complete sentence. It was both painful and embarrassing to watch him.

I would be remiss not to mention Elaine Stritch's performance last night. She won the award for best guest actress on a comedy series. This award was presented the night before the Primetime Emmys. At the Primetime Emmys she was a presenter. When she took the floor, she had no idea what she was supposed to do. She could barely read the teleprompter. For any other performer, I might feel sorry for them, but with Stritch, it just seemed right.

Despite the bad moments of the night, there were two shining stars. First, Helen Mirren's acceptance speech. She immediately began with, "I am going to keep talking until they play that dreadful music." She gave her speech and then kept going and finally said, "Where is that music? I'm stalling here." It was a moment of brilliance and style as only Helen Mirren could deliver. The other moment was Sally Fields' acceptance speech. During her speech she began normally and the started to go a little Sybil. She went off saying how awful the war is and just as she is getting rolling with, "this god_ _ _ _ war..." the sound was cut for a few seconds. They bleeped Sally Fields. How dare they! While I don't advocate actors using their acceptance speeches to make political statements, this was s good one. That the network would censor it is awful. What happened to free speech? Oh wait, this was on Fox. Admittedly she did get a little Sybil on stage.

On Saturday, the Emmys they don't have time to give out at the big show are awarded. I just want to take this time to give a shout out to Kathy Girffin who took home the Creative Arts Emmy for Best Non-Competitive Reality Show!!! Snaps to you Kathy. Of course part of her acceptance speech was edited when the show aired Saturday night. She said, "A lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this, but he had nothing to do with this. Suck it, Jesus, this award is my God now!" A little off color, but not unexpected of Ms. G.

Sadly, Giada did not win an Emmy. It does not matter that she wasn't nominated. She still should get one.

Sleek, Stylish and Deadly?

2007-09-14T10:50:00.000-04:00

This week's episode of Hotel Babylon was somewhat different than the others that have aired thus far. Instead of the usual sex and luxury focus, this one was all about the hotel late at night. The major plot was whether a guest murdered his wife. Anna was freaked out by working the night shift and convinced herself and Charlie that Mr. Johnson killed his wife, cut up her body, put it in his suitcase and stored her in the trunk of his car. The show had the typical moments of stupid actions that are standard in situations like this. Anna used her key card to gain access to Mr. Johnson's room. When she walks into the room she put her key on a table rather than back in her pocket. She opens a zipped up bag, finds rope, gloves and tape in it. Then of coure Mr. Johnson is heard at the door coming in and she hides so as to avoid detection. When she leaves the room, she naturally forgets her key. Very typical. However, the the twists thrown in were wonderful.

The episode starts with a guest laying on the patio off his room, face down, unconscious, surrounded by broken glass. The show then backs up to 8 hours earlier to reveal what happened. The unconscious man is Mr. Johnson. Finding out how he got there was fun, despite the standard schtick like Anna's key.

After watching this episode I realized what it is that makes British shows generally better than American versions of the same show. For example Coupling. This is a great show in the British version, but the American one, despite using the EXACT same script was horrible. So, it is not the writing that is the difference. British actors often have this dispassionate was of acting and speaking. It is not a deadpan, but it is not "acted." That is the key. The way the actors deliver their lines makes these shows wonderful. They let the writing do its own work, and just deliver the lines, trusting in the script. Obviously they are acting, but it is much subtler than on American shows.

Next week's Babylon promises to be back to the standard sex and luxury type of episode. I cannot wait.

A Visceral Reaction

2007-09-14T09:16:00.000-04:00

I really want to like Tim Gunn's Guide to Style more than I do. The show isn't bad, it just needs some work. The best thing about the show, besides Tim of course, is that Tim doesn't try to change a person's style. Instead he helps them apply his rules to their existing style. He and Veronica truly help people learn how to pick clothing that fit properly. As one designer said last night, the right dress on the wrong person is just wrong.

Nevertheless, the show needs help. First of all, the segments with Tim talking about what they did next is totally unnecessary. I'm watching the show, I will see what you do next. I don't need it introduced. Plus during these segments the graphics make it look almost like Tim is floating in space, at least they could have him sitting in a chair or something. But there he is, in a sterile all white space.

Catch phrases. Sometimes they are good, other times, not so much. On PR, Tim's famous "make it work, " is classic. It works. And no one could forget, "what happened to Andrae?" However on TGGTS, two shows in a row Tim has had a negative reaction to something and then says, "oh, that was a visceral response." The first time it was funny. The second time it seemed less authentic to me. Moreover, I saw the response. I didn't need to hear a description of it as well. Tim, you are a funny man, there is no need to try to be funny. You have a dry wit that is wonderful.

As for Veronica Webb, how does she have the right to help someone pick out clothing when she was wearing a picnic table tablecloth last night? Veronica, you aren't on the farm gathering eggs. You are a stunning woman. Even though the dress fit you very well, it was not a good dress. The other clothes you wore during the show were great. But the red and white checkerboard number. Think again.

Finally the "experts" that assist Tim and Veronica are not all experts. Last week they had a 25 year old life coach. At 25 what the hell does he know about life to be giving others coaching on it?!? First he had that night's woman wear a garbage bag. As he explained, "if you can wear a garbage bag, you can wear anything." What the fuck does that mean? Also, he told her pick a theme song for her life and always have it playing in her head. Um, anyone watch Ally McBeal? That is a schtick from Ally. Perhaps that is good advice, but it just seemed like he watch Ally McBeal and thought, "hey, I will tell that to people." Last night's expert was a little better. They actually had the movement coach Tyra used on ANTM. He helped the woman last night walk with more confidence and style. It worked. Why? Because he has experience doing this. If you are going to call someone an expert, make sure they really are one.

I still am holding out hope for TGGTS. Hopefully they will get the kinks worked out soon. As Tim would say, "make it work!"

Just a Litte Rant

2007-09-12T15:09:00.000-04:00

DVR's and TiVo have ruined TV watching for me to some degree. Don't get me wrong, I love being able to fast forward through commercials and pause shows for bathroom breaks. However, because of this technology, station execs are scared viewers are not going to see commercials for new shows. So to remedy this, every channel now has little pop-ups to advertise other shows during the one you are watching. If this was discreet I could handle it, but it isn't. Often there is writing on the show you are watching that you want to read either subtitles or secret words, etc. But because of the pop-up, you can't read it.

Probably the worst channel for this is Logo. Before a pop-up, there is a little ball that bounces around the screen, making little pong sounds. Then the pop-up appears. Then the little ball goes back the other way, bouncing and ponging.

Between the product placement that now occurs on every show and the pop-ups, TV is not as enjoyable as it once was. I guess this is the price to pay for convenience.

Biggest Cast Yet

2007-09-12T14:46:00.001-04:00

Last night was the season premier of The Biggest Loser. Last week was a "where are they now" about former contestants. This was the first official episode of the new season. With the new season are many changes.

I previously discussed Allison Sweeney being the new host, so no need to rehash that. I will say that so far I am liking her more than Caroline Rhea as host. Don't get me wrong, I love Caroline Rhea. I think she is hysterical. I once met her in person and she is just as charming and funny in real life as she is when she performs. However, she was not a good choice for host of this show. Allison seems to be a better fit. In addition to having a new host, the most remarkable thing about this season is the competitors. This is easily the largest cast yet on the show. I don't mean in number, I mean size. Most of the men were close to, if not over 400 pounds. The women were equally plus sized. We are talking people who need to lose well over 100 pounds each.

The show began with 18 contestants. Trainers Bob and Kim parachuted out of an airplane over the desert and the fist challenge was for the competitors to run to them. The first one to each trainer would be the team captain and get to select the other 5 members of his or her team. Making people who have never exercised before run a mile in the desert?!? Are they insane? Once the winners were determined and the two teams of 6 formed, the remaining 6 were told they were going home. However, shortly after the red and blue teams left, a black clad figure rode up on a motorcycle. Jillian is back!!! She is now training the black team. No one knows about the black team. The black team will be revealed to the other teams and trainers after they have been working for 2 weeks. In the meantime, Jillian is working their butts off in the desert.

I don't know who will react worse to Jillian's return, Bob or Kim. Bob lost to Jillian 2 seasons in a row. Kim replaced Jillian last season. I am sure each will not be happy to see her. But at the same time I think they will be happy to have her back.

Another change this season is that the contestants are no longer staying at luxury ranch. This season they are staying in a dorm. Gone are the lush surroundings of the past 3 seasons. Also this season, the trainers attend all the weigh-ins. In the past, the trainers only heard about them from their teams. Now the trainers will get to see how hard the weigh-ins actually are. Perhaps this will motivate the trainers to work harder.

At the end of the episode, the red team lost Amber who at 5'4" weighed in at almost 300 pounds. She lost only 7 pounds in the first week, she was the last person to reach the trainers in the run across the desert and she even told her trainer Kim to send her home. She didn't have the drive that is needed for this game. In this game not only are you losing weight for yourself, but also for your team.

I am really looking forward to this season. 3 trainers, bigger contestants, new host. It is an all new show. I just wish the editing was better. I don't need the 30 seconds shown before the commercial break repeated after the break. It was only 2 minutes.

Weeds Are Hard to Kill

2007-09-11T13:14:00.000-04:00

Finally the Weeds we love is back. Last night's episode was great.

Nancy being part of a drive by shooting was great. But her cleaning Marvin's blood off the backseat of her Prius was priceless. She is totally losing it. There is a certain amount of schatenfreude happening here. Almost like watching Whitney Houston on Being Bobby Brown. Mary Louise Parker is playing Nancy fantastically. Nancy was a simple suburban housewife selling pot. Now she is in the middle of gang wars and fighting to keep her family safe. Finally the reality of what she has done is catching up to her. No one could go through this without cracking. She is trying to maintain her sweet innocence while being engulfed by the uglier sider of drug dealing.

The best part of last night's show was Shane's critical thinking class. Shane is taking summer school classes at Absolute Truth Ministries in Majestic, the community next to Agrestic. In his class, the teacher gives the students clues to a murder and the students must figure out what happened. Shane thinks he figured it out and says there was no murder. The teacher says there was a murder, opens an envelope and produces a drawing of an aborted baby. I totally did not see that coming. I couldn't believe they did that. It was a total "oh my god" moment.

Finally the Weeds of old is reappearing. I hope they can keep this going.

Britney Spears performance at VMA 2007 Gimme More

2007-09-11T13:13:00.001-04:00

In case any of you missed it, here is Britney's "comeback" performance. Yikes! You would think she could have come up with some energy for it. She is just going through the motions, as if she is marking it. She looks bored. I have read all the "explanations" for her poor performance: fight with her hair stylist, she was upset about what Sarah Silverman was going to say, she was nervous, etc. But you know what? This is her job!!! Leave the drama backstage. You were here to do a job.

As for her costume, I know she had 2 kids and she has definitely lost weight since her interview with Matt Lauer, but come on Brit. You are by no means fat, but that skimpy bikini was a bad bad bad idea.

Nipped and Tucked Eyes to Thighs

2007-09-11T12:19:00.000-04:00

Last night's episode of Dr. 90210 featured Dr. Matlock. I've talked about him before. He is the obviously gay plastic surgeon who surrounds himself with surgically enhanced women so that he appears straight. Last night we got to watch him go on a date, arranged by his daughter. Apparently he was once married and is now divorced. Gee, I wonder why? On his date, he wore one of the ugliest shirts I have ever seen. This shirt was this large, flowy number. He took his date to Hadaka Sushi. Upon entering the restaurant they were escorted to the adults only room. ADULTS ONLY... in a restaurant?!? They sat down at a table upon which was laying a naked women covered in flowers and sushi. Call me crazy, but to me that is not the way to make a good impression on a woman. What kind of guy takes a woman to a naked sushi restaurant? As if this didn't make a good enough impression, he proudly says to his date, "I am afraid of serious relationships." Honesty in a relationship is a good thing, but you don't come right out and say I don't want any commitments to your date on a first date. Save that for a second date or a conversation after the first date.

Not only did we get to see Dr. Matlock operating as a player, but we also saw him operate on a patient. This patient was getting his "Wonder Woman" makeover. This operation consists of liposuction on her hips, thighs, tummy, arms and chin, a laser vaginal rejuvenation, and a Brazilian butt lift. When discussing the vjayjay procedure, he explained that this patient suffered from stress urinary incontinence as a result of having two children. He added that this was a hygiene issue for her. For her?!? I would think this is a hygiene issue for anyone who has this problem. That he didn't appear to think so is really upsetting.

After seeing this episode, I think we can safely say that Dr. Matlock is a closeted, sleezy doctor with a fondness for golden showers. And we wonder why he is single.

Gotta Getta Gunn

2007-09-10T10:14:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the delay in posting, but since returning from vacation, there has been a lot of catching up to do. But now, without further ado, let's talk about Tim Gunn's Guide to Style. Kudos to Bravo for giving Tim his own show. Were it up to me, he would get a lot more screen time on Project Runway than he does currently. So an entire hour featuring his is awesome. Moreover, as this is his show and he is there to give advice to people on fashion, he is not as constrained as he is force to be on PR. On PR, Tim is only allowed to ask questions about the dresses being made and subtly suggest changes. On TGGTS, he has no such restraints. Tim is free to speak his mind. He shows himself to be sassier and funnier than one would have even imagined from watch PR. If you read articles about him or interviews with him, that side of him is clear, but getting to hear it directly from him is fantastic.

In each episode of "Tim Gunn's Guide to Style," Gunn uses his unmatched counseling skills, to turn the fashion weary into polished individuals. While Gunn focuses on the big picture of each subject's transformation, Webb guides the women through shopping the Tim Gunn way, by steering their choices and listening to their concerns and offering solutions. The series utilizes several tools to help a diverse set of women make themselves over, including a list of various "fashion icons" the subjects pick from to determine who inspires their style – be it Jackie O., Angelina Jolie or Sarah Jessica Parker. Then, when building their signature looks, the subjects use Gunn's "essential shopping list," which includes 10 basic pieces that no closet should be without. Armed with Gunn's rules, each makeover subject is encouraged to get a great pair of jeans, a trying task for any woman. After the fashion is taken care of, Gunn calls on his friends and colleagues to put the finishing touches on the women, including hair and make-up.

To get a truly accurate silhouette, they take 27 different measurements and with the help of technology called the Optitech, a computer image of the woman's silhouette is made. Snaps to the women on this show for being able to face this process. I don't know that I would want to see such a model of me. Using this model, Tim sits down with the woman and they discuss her shape, and what styles would work with her figure. Tim and Veronica also go to the woman's home and look at every item of clothing she owns, including underwear. Clothes are sorted into keep, donate, and discard piles. They want to make sure each woman is fully set from top to bottom.

Unlike Stacy and Clinton on TLC's What Not To Wear, Tim treats the women with kindness. Stacy and Clinton on the other hand seem to revel in sarcastically telling women what is wrong with their clothes and how horrible they look. Tim is firm, but compassionate. He appears to genuinely want to help the women on his show.

On the premier episode, when Tim and Veronica take Rebecca shopping for the 10 essential items Veronica pulls a short dress for Rebecca to try on. She looks at Tim and says it will be great with leggings. Now is where the gay man in Tim really shines. He looks truly aghast, his mouth hangs open and he says, "you really stunned me." According to Tim, leggings are a huge fashion mistake.

This show is a lot of fun to watch. And even if you don't like the clothes, Tim is still a riot.

Make it Work!!!

2007-09-06T15:43:00.000-04:00

Tonight is the premier of Tim Gunn's new show on Bravo, Tim Gunn's Guide to Style. It is Bravo's version of What Not to Wear. I love Tim. I hope this show works. Until Project Runway comes back, this will do. And, there will be more Tim than on PR. I will watch it tonight and report back tomorrow. Stay tuned.

I am ANTM!

2007-09-06T13:54:00.001-04:00

During my absence from posting, I was on vacation. I spent part of my time in Barcelona. While there, I visited Parc Guell, a park designed by Gaudi to resemble an English garden. While he didn't succeed, this park is important for one HUGE reason...the finale of America's Next Top Model cycle 7 was filmed here!!! For me, this makes Parc Guell a shrine. Of course I had to do my impression of CariDee (like I would do Melrose, she lost). So here is a photo of me as CariDee, minus the wedding gown.

On a related note, mark your calendars, ANTM cycle 9 starts September 19!!!

Dear Suzy...

2007-09-06T13:21:00.000-04:00

The Biggest Loser is back. This is one of those shows that I both love and hate. The new season begins next week, but this week they had a "Did they keep the weight off" show. 8 previous contestants were brought back to weigh in one more time to see if they kept the weight off. While it was great to see these people again, and to see if they did in fact keep off the weight, I found a few problems with the show.

First off, my biggest pet peeve about the entire show is that they only pay attention to how much weight the contestants lose. Yes, weight loss is a big part of it, but they totally ignore body fat percentage. One contestant could lose less poundage than another, but have lost more fat and in fact gained muscle weight. To me, that is the person who deserves to win the show. I don't want to hear that muscle weighs more than fat. That is bullshit. A pound of muscle and a pound of fat both weigh the same. Muscle is DENSER than fat, so the same volume of muscle weighs more than an equal volume of fat. That said, a contestant could even gain weight and still have lost more fat than anyone else. I am not knocking the weight loss, it is truly amazing, but I wish they would factor in body fat percentages.

The best part of the "did they keep the weight off" special was not seeing the past contestants (and yes, they all kept the weight off...but we only saw their starting weight, not the weight when they left the ranch or even at the end of the season), but rather was seeing Suzy. Suzy cried during every episode of the second season. If I were starved and worked out like they do at the ranch, I would cry too. During this special episode, we saw Matt and Suzy, they met during season two, started dating and got married. They were not part of this show's weigh-in, but were filmed at home with their new son Rex. Suzy looks great, and she did not disappoint. She cried!!!!

This upcoming season has the potential to be one yet. Jillian is back and intense as ever. Instead of the usual 2 teams, there will be 3 teams: Bob's blue team, and Jillian's black team. However, Jillian's return is not the biggest change this season. The biggest change is that Caroline Rhea is no longer hosting the show. Allison Sweeney, of Days of Out Lives, is now the host. Perhaps they realized that having an overweight host was not a good idea. I like Caroline Rhea, but she was not a good choice for this show. When you are hosting a show with people competing to lose weight, you should also lose some weight...definitely not gain.

Miss Teen USA 2007 - South Carolina answers a question

2007-09-03T07:15:00.001-04:00

I was out of the country when this happened, so this is my first chance to post and talk about this classic piece of video. What the hell?!? Not only did she not answer the question asked, her answer (if that is what you call it) made no sense at all. However, the best part of the clip is Mario Lopez. He is trying his best to hold it together. You can see how tightly his face is drawn to avoid laughing. I think his dimples are going to implode.

Sprayed with RoundUp?

2007-08-21T08:27:00.001-04:00

What is going on with Weeds this season? Last night was the second episode of the new season and it totally fell flat. Celia walking down the street drunk was funny, but overall the show is losing its stride. If this was the first season, I could understand it. The actors would still be getting to know their characters, etc. However, after 2 seasons this is an established show. The actors know their characters and how they relate to one another. Yet for some reason they just aren't gelling this season.

Part of it is for sure the script. The first two episodes covered less than a 24 hour period. Unfortunately, the story did not move that far along. The only thing we know right now is that Nancy owes U-Turn just under $150,000 and that Conrad is going to be U-Turns new farmer growing the Milf Weed. But aside from that, I feel like nothing happened. I understand sometimes things need to slowly build up to a big "tada" moment, but when a show returns for a new season, they need to grab the audience immediately.

Queer as Folk was shocking its first season in an attempt to grab viewers. When it came back for season 2, some of the shock was lessened in favor of more character development. By season 3, it was working nicely. It worked and the show lasted. Weeds could take a lesson from QAF. Your first season you grabbed your audience. Your second season you kept us enthralled, but now you need to hold onto us.

I am rapidly losing interest in the show and I am probably not the only one. This is Weeds' third season. It maintained its momentum between seasons one and two. I don't know what is going on that they cannot seem to get it together this season, but I really hope they do or else I don't see a season 4. Honestly, I think Nancy should just pack up the kids, sell the house, move somewhere new and start over.

So Wrong, Yet Oh So Right!

2007-08-20T18:02:00.000-04:00

Paula Deen has done it again. She has taken an already fattening food and upped it, not one, but two levels of fattiness. She started mac & cheese, one of my favorite guilty pleasure foods (but the kind with the sauce already made that you squeeze onto the noodles, not the kind with the powder). No, she didn't use a package for it, but made it from scratch. Once cooked, she put in into a baking dish and refrigerated it. After it cooled, Paula took it out of the fridge and cut the mac & cheese into big squares. Now is where the fun begins. She wrapped each chunk of the cold mac & cheese horizontally with bacon. Yes, bacon. One level of extra fatty goodness right there. When all the pieces were wrapped in bacon, she dredged them in flour, dipped them into beaten egg, then coated each one in bread crumbs. Do you see where this is going? You got it! She then FRIED them in oil until they were all brown and crispy.

While the fat content of this creation is frightening, it looked so effing good. Dip that bad boy into some warm tomato sauce or even ketchup and you got yourself a party. I know I am going to have to try this sometime. My arteries might scream at me, but it'll be worth it. I openly admit that I have tried some of Paula's recipes. Not all were successful, but the ones that are, are damn good. Just not something to make all the time.

Dr. Hotykie

2007-08-20T14:00:00.000-04:00

On the recent Dr. 90210, much of the focus was on Dr. Gary Motykie. This guy is a hottie. I definitely get a ping on the gaydar about him, but that is not the focus here. In addition to being a plastic surgeon, he is also a body builder and is currently working out with a trainer to compete in a body building competition. We see him at the gym working out, and this guy is built. His arms are perfectly sculpted and he looks great. However, both he and his trainer talk about what poor shape he is in.

Are they for real?!? People would kill to look that good. But then again, look at his chosen career. He deals all day long with people with body image issues. This is a case of physician heal thyself. He doesn't even say he is in good shape, but not quite ready for competition. He flat out says he is not in good shape at all. If he is not in good shape, what hope is there for the rest of us?

I get that you are constantly surrounded by people seeking their idea of perfection, but you need to get some perspective dude.

Dr. Motykie talks about how he is so busy working he has no time to go out. He manages to find time to take a salsa dancing class and seems to enjoy himself. The female teacher totally hits on him, but he seems not to notice. He is either gay or clueless. But from my perspective, most straight guys would not only notice a hot woman hitting on them, but they would reciprocate. Dr. M. did nothing. Maybe he's working so much to avoid something else?

Big Momma

2007-08-20T12:25:00.000-04:00

Last night was the second to last episode of this season of Big Love. As always, it was amazing. They are building up to a huge season end next week. Unfortunately I will be out of the country and unable to watch it and report back. So much happened last night, that just a recap would be quite lengthy, let alone adding my commentary. Therefore I am going to talk about one part of the episode that I felt was the most poignant of anything thing that happened.

Barb attempted to mend the relationship with her mother. Her mother does not approve of Barb being part of a plural marriage. Barb reads about her mother's upcoming wedding and decides to try to fix their relationship. Barb shows up at her mother's and her mother summarily dismisses her, although you can tell it breaks her heart to do it. Barb returns the next day and tells her mother that her son Ben wants to start dating twins and live "the principle." For this, her mother has time. She tells Barb to bring the children to the wedding and then leave Ben with her. She will take Ben for the remainder of the summer. This way Ben will see other options for his life. Barb agrees.

On the day of the wedding Barb takes the kids to the reception. When she arrives, her mother comes out and asks why Barb is all dressed up. Apparently the invitation was for the children only, not Barb. But, Barb stands firm and gets in. Once there, Ben learns of the plans for him to stay and he calls Bill. Bill shows up and enters the reception. However, he leaves Margene in the car. Bill confronts Barb about it and she says, "it must have slipped my mind." This is her passive aggressive revenge on Bill for him failing to tell her about he and Margene going to dinner with the people from Weber gaming. Margene, all alone and pissed off in the car calls Nicki. Nicki packs up all the kids and comes to the wedding. There is a big show down between Barb's mother and Barb's family. The wives ask Barb if she is leaving them. At the end, Barb choses to return home with Bill and the rest of her family.

While much more did happen last night, to me this was the most interesting part of the show. Barb is clearly torn. On one hand, she loves Bill and is living the principal. On the other, she doesn't want it for her son. Barb appears to be a hypocrite, but is she really? She loves her husband and children, and if she had her choice she would not be in a plural marriage. She doesn't want to lose Bill or the kids, so she must tolerate polygamy. She doesn't like it, but she loves her family. Barb wants her children to live a more open life and not face the problems that come with polygamy. Barb is protecting her son and giving him the chance to see what else there is out there besides "the principle." But what kind of example is she giving her kids? She is not happy with her life, yet she chooses to stay rather than making the difficult, but ultimately more fulfilling choice to leave and live her life without Bill and her sister-wives.

There was also something interesting in Barb's mother. She loves Barb, but cannot accept this part of Barb's life. This was a good analogy for anyone who is shunned by their own family for one reason or another. Barb's plural marriage does not affect who she is as a person. She is still the same daughter she was before she and Bill married Nicki. Unfortunately, the idea of unconditional love doesn't exist here. You can disapprove of choices your child makes, but she is still your child. Barb's life isn't hurting anyone, yet this one thing changes her relationship with her family of origin. Hopefully someday her family will come around and realize Barb is still Barb. I also found it interesting that Barb's mother feels that Barb is being controlled by Bill, yet her new husband demanded that they be sealed in a Mormon ceremony and she be unsealed from Barb's father. Like mother, like daughter. Each is controlled by her respective husband, but neither is willing to face it. Maybe part of the reason for the rift between Barb and her mother is that her mother sees Barb making the same mistakes she did and she doesn't want to watch it.

There will for sure be a lot happening next week in the season finale. But given the choice between being in Europe or watching this, I choose Europe. See you all in about 2 weeks.

-Such

I Might Consider Staying There

2007-08-17T08:31:00.000-04:00

While past episodes of Welcome to the Parker made me not want to stay there, this week's had the reverse effect - partially. I'll get to that shortly, but first I want to talk about the writing on the show. Have you ever noticed that all these "reality" shows have writers? If this is supposed to be real, then I would think there was no need for writers. However, Welcome to the Parker makes full use of their writing staff. Each shows begins much like Fastasy Island did. The show starts with John Federbusch, Chief Concierge, acting like he is checking the computer to see who is checking in that day. He will announce one of the people/parties checking in and then we see the guests getting out of their car and the grand front doors being opened for them. It is beyond bad acting and writing. I know John is not an actor, so I will cut him some slack, but the whole thing is just so cheesy.

Last night focused on two groups at the hotel. The first executives from an adult toy store called The Pleasure Chest. They want to get their products put into the Parker's minibar. The second group was Charisma Arts Charm School for Men. The group consisted of the 2 men who run the school and 3 students. They were here to learn how to talk to women. And of course there was more of the behind the scenes drama with the Parker Staff.

The Pleasure Chest group walked around the property talking to various members of the hotel staff to see what they thought of having sex kits available for guests. Everyone seemed to think it was a good idea from the guest perspective, but there were reservations about how management would react. Staff members said they often got calls from guests requesting things like massage oil and other intimate items. As General Manager Thomas put it, "The Parker is all about sex." Now you know why I want to stay there. And I will admit that seeing this place makes it very clear that it is designed for people to come and get freaky - in the privacy of their rooms of course. There is even an indoor pool that is clothing optional. In fact the woman from the Pleasure Chest group is shown taking a naked swim - not something I needed to see. The Pleasure Chest exec show their products to Lynn, the HR director in an informal meeting. Lynn says, "Our clientele is sophisticated as far as sexual ideas and experiences, that's the atmosphere. But, at least it's done in good taste." In a private moment, away from the execs, she says, "I don't want open vibrators or dildos all over the place. I think that would be inappropriate." Ya think? As the HR director, her concern is about staff being uncomfortable at what they might find walking into a room.

To test staff reactions at seeing sex toys on display in a room, the woman from the group puts all the products they have all over her room. She then calls room service to get some coffee delivered. When the woman from room service delivers the coffee, she is visibly uncomfortable. After this, the Pleasure Chest gal says that she now understands Lynn's concerns. The group realizes that they need to modify the packaging so it is subtle and suggestive, not in your face, "a whisper, not a shout," as they put it. When the time comes to meet with Parker management, they show the managers the new packaging they created. Now each kit is in a box or sleeve that the guest can open to see the contents without opening the items themselves. The mangers decide to test market some of the kits. Bravo! Keep reading to see who they tested one on.

On to Charisma Arts. The 3 students in the group were so sad. They were so shy and awkward. One of them is an emergency room psychiatrist who admits he is afraid to talk to people. Not such a good career choice there genius. In one scene the 3 men are having drinks at the bar and the server asks what they are at the hotel for. They explain they are here for classes in how to "be ladies men," to which the server replies, "Oh! You're socially retarded." I know that is so not PC, but it is hysterical. The guys who run the school ask Michael to get them 30 young, attractive, single women for a cocktail party so these guys can try their new skills at the end of the weekend. Michael has now become a pimp and he knows that if he screws this up, his job is done. Thomas even says that Michael better get the girls or he is in trouble. So Michael, asks every woman on the staff to round up their friends and bring them. Michael admits that he doesn't know how to talk to women and doesn't know any outside the staff. Michael even sits in on one of the classes hoping to pick up some tips that he could use to pick up a guy. Here's tip Michael, stop being such a prissy queen.

We get to see part of one of the classes in action. It starts with one of the teachers saying, "Welcome to Charisma Arts Charm School. We're going to teach you how to meet and connect with women." This doesn't sound like a charm school to me. It sounds more like, "How to be a player." Various Parker staff members spy on the class as it goes on. One staff member says, "it is like an AA meeting for guys who can't get chicks."

When the cocktail party finally arrives, Michael is saved because 30 women are there. Watching the men interact with these women is so uncomfortable. It is almost as if some of the women, if not all, were told to act interested in these guys. It is so awkward. However, one of the 3 students, a little asian man named Nghia (you figure that one out) appears to make a connection with one woman. The teachers pull him aside and tell him to take her somewhere more private. Nghia and this woman walk to a more secluded spot and start talking. He keeps asking for a kiss and she keeps laughing it off. Finally one of the teachers pulls him aside again and tell him to tell her to close her eyes and then give her a kiss. What the hell kind of advice is this?!? Hey, go assault that woman! But being an obedient student, Nghia does it. And surprisingly, the woman reacts favorably and kisses him back. Nghia later admits that was his first kiss. The man is 30! He says that the whole thing was "natural and organic." Um, you have someone telling you what to do the whole time. How is that natural?

Now for the staff drama. In the staff meeting, Samir says they are overbooked by 14 rooms. The Who is checking in and they need the room. So the staff sets about trying to get 14 rooms. Samir talks about how they will have to "walk" guests to another hotel and pay for it. With only 4 hours before check in, they still needed 9 rooms. Of course by the time The Who got there, they had all 14 rooms needed. What really shocked me was that they would 1. overbook the hotel - they have a computer system that show availability; 2. they admit to doing it; and 3. they would treat guests so badly as to force them out just to make room for someone else. Yes, I know the hotel is there to make money and a rock group is likely to spend a lot more money than a couple, but still, this is not right. If I have a reservation at a hotel, I expect it to be honored when I show up and not told I am being sent elsewhere.

We got to see this exact thing happen. A couple comes to check in and get told the hotel is overbooked, but that the Parker arranged for them to spend the night at another hotel on them as well as comping the rest of their stay at the Parker. Not too bad, but still. When they are told where they are being put up for the night, the woman in the couple says, "No way." She says she is willing to be put up at the Marriott though. Thomas eventually comes back to them and says he got them a room at the Marriott for the night and of course the Parker is paying for it. When the couple returns the next day, at check in they are handed a gift, compliments on the management. You got it, one of the sex kits from The Pleasure Chest. The episode ends with the man from couple putting the Do Not Disturb sign on the door and you hear a buzzing sound coming from in the room.

Once again, the hotel appears to be poorly run. But they do compensate their guests well for inconveniences and there is definitely a sexually charged atmosphere on the property. So maybe it is worth going for a night.

Tori & Dean: Innsane

2007-08-16T17:28:00.000-04:00

This week saw the season premier of Tori & Dean: Inn Love, Oxygen's reality show that follows the lives of Tori Spelling and her husband Dean McDermott as they leave Hollywood to open a bed & breakfast in Fall Brook, CA. I know, you're already thinking, "WOW! That is awesome. I can't wait to watch!" This show is so bad, it's well, bad. Not Being Bobby Brown bad, more like Shear Genius bad. So rather than watch it yourself, I am here to watch and review for you.

Last season was all about Tori & Dean having to sell all of Tori's stuff (because Dean didn't have any to begin with) so they can afford to buy a B&B. We got to see them look for the right place, host a garage sale and eventually remodel and open the B&B. All is this happened while Tori was very pregnant. The season ended with baby Liam being born. This season begins with Tori and Dean returning to the B&B with Liam and the nanny, Patsy. Patsy is a large black woman with orange hair...dyed orange! How do I know, well I will tell you shortly.

Upon arriving at the B&B, Patsy says that she was supposed to be the nanny for 3 months, "But that was several months ago." SEVERAL MONTHS!!! They were away from their own business for several months! I believe in parents taking time off from work to be with their newborn child, but this is their income. It is not like they are getting paid family leave. Yes, they did have someone running the place for them, but that is not the same as the owners being there. If it had been running for a while, then I could understand this, but the B&B was only open a few weeks when they left it. You cannot just abandon a new business. The man running the B&B in their stead was going over all the bills with them that still have to be paid. Apparently they aren't making enough money to cover the costs of running the place. Dean even said, "I never considered the costs of running a B&B." Hello! Did you think you got gas, water, electric, etc for free? And of course all the yard work is done by people who just want the honor of cutting their grounds. Get real! These geniuses should not be doing this.

When talking about the nanny, Tori says that Patsy reminds her of her childhood nanny and so Patsy is there as much for her as for Liam. A grown woman needing a nanny?!? She is insane. Don't get me wrong, I love Tori. I love that she makes fun of herself. Her freak out in Trick should have earned her an Oscar. But come on lady, you are an adult now. You have a baby. Time to grow the fuck up!

I know you've been waiting to read how I know Patsy's hair is not natural orange. Wait no longer. In one scene we see Tori dying Patsy's hair. While applying the dye, Tori says that she once tried dying her pubes so that the carpet would match the drapes. Unfortunately something went wrong and they turned purple. Tori then asks Patsy's if she ever did that to which Patsy replies that she doesn't even have carpet any more. It is down to bare wood. Who talks to their baby's nanny about dying their pubes? Is it just me, or is that a little too much an overshare?

In the midst of the worries about money for the B&B, Tori gets an invitation to appear on a British talk show. This comes only a few days after returning to the B&B. Tori of course wants to go, but Dean for once is thinking and realizes this may not be the best time. Nevertheless, Tori guilts Dean into going by explaining that as a child she didn't get to travel much because her father, Aaron Spelling of Charlie's Angels, Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place, etc. fame, was afraid of flying. Umm, Tori, you had plenty of chances and your own money to travel anywhere you wanted when you were on 90210 and even after. Now is the time to be responsible. You don't have any money coming in. It would probably be better to work on the problems at the B&B. You know problems like the lack of money to keep it afloat, the mice. Those little things.

Now as far as their money issues go, Dean said they are now dipping into their own pockets to keep things running. Obviously that is not a good way to run a business. You want the business to make money. At least enough to support itself. Anything above that is great. I would think that is the first thing one learns in business school. If your business is not making enough to keep sustain itself, something needs to be fixed. You have to wonder what is wrong with them? They are getting FREE advertising by having this show. You would think people would be rushing to stay there. Maybe the problem is they bought a place in the middle of nowhere. There is nothing around for tourists. Remember rule 1 of real estate: location, location, location. Also if I were planning on opening a business, I would do a lot of research first. I would want to know expected costs, the failure rate, etc. I imagine B&B's a much like restaurants in that more go out of business annually than open. I am all for people exploring options, but sinking all your money into a venture more likely to fail than succeed is never a good idea.

Dean, grow some balls and tell your wife she needs to wake up and either make another movie or start figuring out what to do. Tori, I love you, but you have got to get a clue. You have responsibilities. You are a mother. What kind of role model do you want to be for your child?

I wish Tori would go back to doing So Notorious. Now that was an awesome show. But as she won't be doing that, I'll keep tabs on the B&B.

Decadent & Delicious

2007-08-16T09:10:00.001-04:00

No, I am not talking about ice cream. I am talking about the BBC series Hotel Babylon. This is my favorite new show. It may well become my new favorite show, but only time will tell. The series is set in a luxury boutique hotel in London, Hotel Babylon. While you need reservations to check in, once you are in, there are no reservations. At Hotel Babylon, guests receive 5 star treatment and can live out their every fantasy, often with assistance from the staff.

Unlike shows like Love Boat where the guests were the main focus of each episode, on Hotel Babylon, the staff that comes first. Every episdoe has new guests in the hotel and we see what happens with them, but the real drama is all about the staff. Deputy manager Charlie is our guide to what happens behind the scenes. His voice overs open and close each episode, much like Carrie on Sex and the City. Charlie’s boss is Rebecca Mitchell, the hotel’s no-nonsense General Manager. She’s determined to keep guests coming back for more, but running a tight ship has taken a toll on her private life. Charlie tries not to get distracted from his ambitions by Jackie the straight-talking, stunning Head of Housekeeping or his one night stand, the vicious-yet-gorgeous Head Receptionist, Anna. Charlie's savior is the always dependable super-concierge Tony, who prides himself on being able to fix anything for anybody, anytime.

Now that you have some background let me tell you about last night. The episode began with Tony doing the morning rounds of collecting the prostitutes he arranged for guests the night before. Rebecca likes them all out of the hotel as early as possible. During his rounds, he mistakes a hotel guest for a hooker. Rebecca ends up having to comp the guest's stay. However later on a woman in the room of a hotel regular claims to be the guest's wife. But she looks like a hooker, has no luggage and the staff have never seen her before. Rebecca is convinced she is a prostitute and tells Tony to get rid of her. Tony refuses saying he thinks she is a guest and does not want to make the same mistake twice in a day. By the end of the episode, we find out she is in fact this old man's wife and her luggage was lost which is why she had no clothing. She used to be a dancer, but married out of it. As this couple is checking out, she gives Tony a 2000 pound tip, and when she hugs him she whispers, "I only married him for his money. When his heart gives out, I'll be back for you." So I guess Rebecca was right.

In last night's show we also learned that Charlie did some time in jail. We don't yet know what for or how long. He is now being blackmailed by a fellow former inmate who is trying to start his own car service. He asks Charlie to send him some business and makes it clear that he will tell Rebecca about Charlie's past if Charlie doesn't comply. Charlie is clearly trying to erase his past and make a new life for himself. Unfortunately his efforts may be thwarted. He goes out of his way to make sure every guest is attended to, even if it means playing a tambourine as backup for a guest pitching a jingle for tampons. He is the guy you want to root for.

Charlie's life at the hotel is being further complicated by his affair with Jackie. She continally asks him to do a room inspection, which is their code for, "let's do the nasty." They will go to an empty room, do the deed and then hang a "make up room" sign on the door when they leave. Not a bad perk. While this affair is not complicated, the complication is in the form an Anna the receptionist. She and Charlie had an affair sometime in the past. She was competing for he Deputy Manager job that went to Charlie. Now as Head Receptionist, she seems to be out to make Charlie's life hell while worming her way into Rebecca's good graces. She is one of those people who will not let anyone get in their way and will do anything to get ahead. If Rebecca is smart, she will keep a close eye on Anna. Anna will not be happy until she has Rebecca's job.

Finally about Rebecca. There is a lot going on there. She has been staying at the hotel every night. Boxes of her clothes were mysteriously delivered to the hotel last night. We learned that she is married, however we don't know why she is now living at the hotel. Last week someone painted "SLUT" across her car. So apparently things at home aren't going well. My guess is that she had an affair, her husband found out and kicked her out.

At the end of the episode, Tony takes the tip he received from the non-hooker and puts it in a hiding place behind a photo of the hotel's former Head Concierge. When he opens a panel in the wall behind the photo, we see hundreds upon hundred of pounds in cash sitting there. Why he isn't putting it in a safe, let alone a bank, is a mystery yet to be solved.

What is in Charlie's past? What is going on in Rebecca's marriage? Why is Tony keeping all this cash in a wall? So much to find out about. Hotel Babylon is well written, well directed and well acted. The show is seemless. It is steamy yet classy as only the British can do. The style with which the women on this show can tell someone to fuck off is a beautiful thing to watch.

Big Love - Fiction and Fact

2007-08-15T13:29:00.000-04:00

I am addicted to Big Love on HBO. For those of you who don't watch the show, you are missing out. The show follows the lives of Bill Hendrickson and his 3, yes 3, wives. They are polygamists. Bill's second wife, Nicki lived her entire life at the Juniper Creek compound where her father Roman Grant is the prophet, dictating all goings on there. Bill's third wife is Margene, a young woman who is searching for belonging and believes she has found that with Bill and his wives.

The interplay between all the characters is beyond complex and at times confusing. Sometimes I think my head it going to explode as I listen to and watch these people. Each of Bill's wives serves a different role: Barb is Bill's true wife, Nicki is his spiritual wife, and Margene is his mistress wife. As the show goes on, it becomes more apparent that Barb really does not want to be in a polygamous marriage, but loves Bill too much to leave. Nicki is all about living "the principle" and wants to be as holy as possible. She is torn between her family of origin, Roman Grant, and her family with Bill, Barb and Margene. Margene just wants to feel safe and loved, to fill a need she never had met in her upbringing.

This season has given much more insight into each of the wives. Nicki is by far the most compelling to me. Barb is a doormat, allowing her love for the Bill she married to control her. Margene is still growing up and will cling to anyone who shows her any attention. Nicki is becoming increasingly complex. She is equally attached to her father and life on the compound and her husband and life in the secular world. But most of all, she is looking out for Nicki above all else. Nicki tries to play Barb and Margene against one another all the time. When push comes to shove she only wants what is best for Nicki, not for either of her families.

Nicki's behavior is the most disturbing of anyone on the show. Her motivation is never clear, aside from her own best interests. Last night I found more clarity about Nicki, not on Big Love, but on another show, The Secret Lives of Women. TSLW is a series on WeTV. Last night was all about polygamy. As big a fan I am of character crossing from one show to another, this was even better. This was like getting Cliff's Notes for Big Love.

Hearing real life polygamous speak out was fascinating. The show gave a very balanced perspective on the issue. We heard from women who love being sister wives, women who didn't like and even women who escaped life on a compound similar to Big Love's juniper Creek. In this show we met Vickey and Valerie, twin sisters married to the same man (they have an additional sister-wife and 21 kids between the three of them). These were modern looking women you would never suspect of being polygamists, much like Barb. Moreover, Valerie was in a polygamous marriage prior to her current one. She left that one, was visiting her sister and "felt this energy" with her brother-in-law. Vickey brought it up to her husband about her sister becoming a sister wife. On the surface Vickey seemed to like the life they lead, if you listened carefully that is not the case. When answering the question of "how she can do this?" Vickey replied, "it is a deeply held spiritual belief, and when I think of that, then it is easier for me to keep going on. It is an important tenet of my religion." When I heard this I had to pause the TV. My head almost exploded. Lady, listen to yourself!!! You need to think about your religion in order to go on. And, even then it is only making it EASIER, not easy. She is openly admitting that this is not a life she is enjoying, but because her religion mandates it, she is willing to do it. This kind of blind faith is scary. Especially when someone admits they don't like it, but do it anyway. Vickey is like Barb. She doesn't like polygamy, but is willing to go along with it because her religion says to. But in Barb's case, she and Bill changed from being LDS (standard mormons) to polygamists well into their marriage.

The show also featured Ruth and Nancy, two sister wifes who grew up in plural families. They are like Nicki on Big Love. To them plural marriage is a blessing and an obligation. It is all about living the principle. They did seem truly content with being part of plural marriages. This was how they were both raised so for them it is normal. There was s true sense of happiness and community in their family. Each of the wives had a role to play. As one was a teacher, the children all went to her for help with homework, another wife did the cooking, etc. In situations like this, I have no issues with polygamy - everyone wanted to be part of this family and they all supported one another. They were happily living in accordance with their beliefs.

On the other end of the spectrum were Rachael and her mother Pauline. Rachael eventually was forced to become her own step-father's 17th wife. She had to marry the man who raised her from the time she was 7 years old. She even had a child with him. Now follow this: Her daughter was her mother's (Pauline's) grandchild and Pauline's husband's granddaughter. BUT this baby was also Rachael's husband's daughter. As Rachael and Pauline had the same husband, Rachael's daughter's father was also her grandfather. How messed up is that?!? Rachael and her mother sister-wife Pauline eventually left the plural marriage.

I have no problem with polygamy as long as it is between CONSENTING ADULTS. This program showed that some young girls, often as young as 14, are forced into marriage. This is where I have a HUGE problem. Anyone under 18 is not mature enough to get married. Most people under 25 aren't either, but that is a different story. We saw the story of Fawn who at 16 ran away from the TLC. TLC is Warren Jeff's infamous compound in Colorado City, AZ. She left because against her will, her father entered her name in the "Joy Book." The "Joy Book" is a listing of all girls eligible for marriage. At 16 Fawn was put up for marriage. She was assisted in her escape by Flora Jessup, a Harriet Tubman for Mormon women and girls trying to escape from life on compounds.

Big Love shows all aspects of plural marriage within one family. If you want to blow your mind watch this show. Whereas it takes entire cast on a daytime soap to generate this much conflict, on Big Love you get it all within one family. It is a huge extended family, but a family none the less. Next week I will just discuss Big Love with out the extra Cliff's Notes. Instead there will be more about the fictitious drama and none of the real drama.

Thriller?

2007-08-14T13:00:00.001-04:00

This is the video of the inmates at a Philippine prison doing Thriller. I particularly like the "girl." Not a bad version. And not a bad way to spend time in jail.

Calisuckication

2007-08-14T09:16:00.000-04:00

Californication, a new Showtime series, debuted last night. I should have skipped it and gone to bed earlier. What a piece of crap. The show stars David Duchovny as Hank Moody, a writer suffering from writer's block trying to get his career back on track. Basically the show is him having one night stand after one night sand. Perhaps this will become a story of fall and redemption and by the end Hank will realize that one night stands are not the way to move forward in one's life.

This show does have some funny moments though. The best last night was when in the middle of doing the nasty, Hank's partner du jour Mia punches him in the face...twice. It was hysterical. Later we learn that Mia is the 16 year old daughter of Hank's ex-girlfriend's fiancée. Yikes!!! But the MOST upsetting this about this is that Mia is played by Madeline Zima. Ms. Zima played Gracie, the youngest child on The Nanny. Digest that for a moment. I saw little Gracie's boobies last night while she was having sex with David Duchovny and simultaneously punching him in the face.

To me it seemed more like a continuation of Duchovny's other Showtime series, The Red Shoe Diaries, only this time he is the one who gets to have sex. I don't think I will be watching again.

Cannabis Culture Continues

2007-08-14T08:30:00.000-04:00

Last night was the season premier of Weeds on Showtime. I was so looking forward the new season, but in my opinion, it fell flat. On the plus side, the show did pick up exactly where the last season ended. They didn't cop out and pick up a later on when all the cliff hangers were neatly resolved. Nancy and Conrad were still being held at gun point by U-Turn and the Armenians (no that is not the name of a rock band), Shane was still on the road with Uncle Andy's flaky ex-girlfriend and Silas was pulled over by the cops and Celia for stealing surveillance cameras and no "Drug Free Zone" signs (he was helping mom's business), and all of Nancy's crop was in the trunk. Doug and Dean were still fighting in the bathroom about Doug have slept with Celia (Dean's wife) and Dean having told Doug's wife about the affair. We were left with lots of cliffhangers and I was so looking forward to seeing how they would get resolved.

Spoiler alert, here is a recap of last night:

Nancy was able to convince U-turn and the rest of the gunmen to let her leave and find the missing crop. Celia took Silas' car and found the stash in the back. Nancy, trying to track down Silas to get the stash learns Nancy has the car and is waiting for her at Nancy's house. The episode ends with Celia laying by Nancy's pool and Nancy staring at her entire crop floating in the water. This brought tears to my eyes. All that broccoli wasted. Hopefully it is salvageable.

Having found Silas in the police station, Nancy opted to leave him there so she would at least know where he was. Nancy still has no idea that Shane is missing. In fact Andy's girlfriend abandoned him at a truck stop, but at least she left him the keys to the van so he can drive home. Andy shows up at the truck stop 2 hours after Shane was left and learns Shane left an hour earlier after driving the van around the parking lot for an hour. Andy sets out on foot to find Shane and eventually finds the van, but no Shane. Still no word on where Shane is. All this going on and Nancy still has not had time to fully process the fact that her second husband, a DEA agent, was just killed.

End of recap:

I was hoping that Celia, upon finding the stash, would tell Nancy she wanted in. Not only would it be entertaining to see Nancy involved in the business, but also it would have forced Celia and her estranged husband Dean to work together. Moreover, they would also have to work with Doug who was Dean's best friend until Dean found out that Doug and Celia were sleeping together. Do you see the drama/comedy possible there? It was a no brainer.

I felt like there was no flow to this episode. The episodes usually feel seemless and are highly absorbing. This episode failed to grab me. This is not good for a season premier. This episode is the time for the producers to grab viewers and remind us of what a great series this is. In this regard, they failed. I will keep watching, but I am not as excited for this season as I once was. Hopefully things will pick up soon.

Dynasty of the Animal Kingdom

2007-08-13T19:22:00.000-04:00

As I put a plug in for Animal Planet's show Meerkat Manor, I decided I should actually watch it at least once. I did, and it is incredible. The series follows the lives of the Whiskers, a family of meerkats in the Kalahari desert. It sounds like it would be a rather boring documentary, but I assure you that it isn't. It really is fascinating.

Cameras have followed this meerkat mob for almost 10 years. The interplay and family dynamics between the Whiskers is astounding. They are more like the Carringtons than animals. Watching them is truly like watching an Aaron Spelling show.

The Whiskers occupy a 2 square mile area in the Kalahari. Flower, a dominant female, is the leader of the Whisker mob. She decides when and where to forage for food, when the mob will move to a new borrow and generally controls the entire family. In the episode I watched today, Flower gave birth to 3 pups at the same time her daughter Mozart was pregnant. Apparently if the dominant female is preggers, no other female in the family is supposed to be. After Flower delivered her pups, the entire family gathered to help with the pups and to groom Flower. Everyone except Mozart that is. Finally Mozart tried to pay her mother attention, but she was spurned. When the pups could finally leave the burrow to go on a foraging trip, rather than return at the end of the day, Flower led the Whiskers to a new burrow a mile away. However, Mozart was not on this trip. Flower had the entire family abandon Mozart to make sure their would be sufficient resources for her own pups and eliminate the competition from Mozart's. Mozart gave birth alone and when she finally had to leave her burrow to get food, a rival family came in and killed the pups.

Meerkats are amazing. They act as a community. Their day starts with everyone clearing the entrances to the burrow. With that done they then stand up to sunbathe for a little bit. Following this, they then go forage for food. Every member of the family goes on the hunt, unless they are assigned to watch newborn pups. After foraging, they all return together to their burrow. At sunset they all gather at the entrance to the burrow to watch the sun go down. They literally stand up and watch it. Then they all go into the burrow to sleep. They truly embody communal living. There are fights, politics and a strong hierarchy. The Whiskers also have rival meerkat mobs that try and take over their manor. It is like the Jets and the Sharks fighting over turf.

I didn't know anything about meerkats prior to watching this show. Now I see what remarkable animals they are. They display amazing intelligence and organization. Human beings could learn a great deal about how to live and act from watching them. I encourage everyone to watch Meerkat Manor at least once. It is on Animal Planet Fridays at 8:30PM.

If this is the welcome, I'd hate to see a refusal

2007-08-10T07:55:00.000-04:00

Bravo's new reality show, Welcome to the Parker is all about life at an upscale, 5 star, luxury resort in Palm Springs. After 3 episodes, I don't think I would want to stay here. For what they charge a night, I would expect flawless service. The staff at the Parker has a long way to go before they will truly be deserving of 5 stars.

From what is being aired (we all know many things can be changed in the editing room, so I take everything aired with a grain of salt), the biggest problem at the Parker appears to be Michael Twomey, the Catering Sales Manager. It looks like every event he is involved with has problems, most of which he causes. He wants to be everybody's friend, so rather than saying, "no," to a client's request, or even, "let me get back to you," he immediate says, "yes, no problem." Having planned a wedding, I know that hearing "yes" is what you want. However, Michael agrees to things and then forgets about them. Last night a guest paying $30,000 for a party asked for heat lamps. True to form, Michael promised him 17. But the afternoon of the party, he found out only a few of the heat lamps were working because no one knew to get them ready. He forgot to put in a request for them, so the grounds staff had no idea they were needed. So Michael had to scramble to rent lamps and then passed on the cost to the client. I'm sorry, but Michael dropped the ball on this and should have paid for the rentals. This was his fault. The client should not have even know about the problem. This client regularly hosts big parties at the Parker, you want to keep him happy. Clients should NEVER know of a problem and if it means it cuts into your profit a little, so be it. Michael cost this customer an additional $800 because of his own carelessness.

For an event the week before, the clients, people from Barcardi, specified they wanted certain chairs for the dinner table. Michael told them it wouldn't be a problem. When the table was set, they used folding white chairs, not the ones the clients wanted. But Michael looked around, said everything was great and moved on. It wasn't until later when the clients arrived that the error was noticed...and it had to be pointed out to him. The problem was resolved quickly, but this is a problem that should never have happened.

Michael, here is a little advice for you: When you meet with a client, TAKE NOTES. Pages and pages of notes. Then, type them up, send them to the client to make sure everything is covered, and all costs are spelled out. Have the client sign it and return it to you. Then, make yourself a check list to be sure everything that needs to happen, happens. I know you are new here, but some of this is pretty basic stuff. Also, when your boss calls you in to his office, DO NOT yell at him. Whether your boss is right or wrong, he is still your boss. There is a right way and a wrong way to challenge your boss, yelling is the wrong one.

Not to put all the blame on Michael, there are many others who have problems too. Samir, the Hotel Manager said last night that he often has to cover up for Michael and pick up his slack. While I understand the Samir's desire for things to run smoothly, if he keeps covering for Michael, Michael is not going to learn anything. When you see a problem, call him on it, don't just fix it yourself. Picking up his slack may treat the symptoms, but it does not fix the underlying problem.

Other problems on last night's episode centered about Jill Johnson, a high profile travel agent coming to stay at the Parker. As a travel agent, she has the ability to steer her clients to the Parker. She is a VIP guest and if there was one person that day at the hotel to not mess up around, it was her. But, the Parker staff once again proved itself to be bumbling and incompetent. To begin with, after checking in, the person escorting Ms. Johnson's party to their room had no idea where their room was. He took them to the wrong building. You would expect someone whose job it is to take people to their rooms, would know where every room on the property is located. Once finally in her room, Ms. Johnson had to leave to have a meeting with the hotel Sales Manager, Alysa, that she scheduled before she arrived. Unfortunately, because of the fiasco getting to her room, Ms. Johnson wasn't sure how to get back to the reception area. Once she got to the front desk and asked for Alysa, she was kept waiting for 36 minutes. I could understand if she just showed up and asked for Alysa having to wait a few minutes. However, this was a scheduled meeting.

Once Alysa arrived, she took Ms. Johnson on a tour of the property. Part of this tour involved seeing some guest rooms. Each of the first two rooms they tried to enter was in use by a guest. Now, don't you think you would check the hotel log to see what rooms were unoccupied before going on the tour and making a note of which rooms were available to be shown? I don't know, just seems like common sense to me. To apologize for the error, Alysa sent Ms. Johnson a tray of chocolate chip cookies and chocolate covered strawberries. That would so work for me! While that is very lovely, it still doesn't excuse the lack of professional Alysa showed by keeping her waiting 36 minutes and not know what rooms could be shown. We learned at the end of the episode that Alysa was fired.

Later in the day, after laying at the pool, Ms. Johnson returned to her room and found her bed sheet had a large tear in it. What kind of housekeeping staff would not notice a torn sheet when they make the bed?!?

For me, the best part of last night's show was Drag Queen Bingo. The event was a fund raiser for The Desert AIDS Project. Michael once again had some problems putting this together, but he appeared to do it without letting the clients know about the problems getting gift bags put together. Michael claims he was told about the gift bags at the last minute. OK, go to the bar and get a few bottles of champagne, get gift certificates from the spa and restaurants, get a free night stay. This was a chance for him to make future business for the hotel, but he totally dropped the ball. The nicest gift was actually from two guests at the hotel who said they thought Drag Queen Bingo would be too racy for them but they wanted to be supportive so they made up a basket of spa products. It was truly lovely. They explained that they are southern Christian girls and that their God is a God of tolerance and love for all people and they felt the same. They really tried to stress their not coming to the event had nothing to do with a prejudice against gays. Whether that is true, only they know. But they supported the event. And it looked like a great time was had by all. When you have Coco Peru and Bridgette of Madison County as your Bingo callers, you cannot go wrong.

The one constant plus at the Parker is the food. No matter what the problems with the staff, every guest they show raves about the food and the service in the restaurant. So what does all this mean? Don't book a room at the Parker, but definitely go for dinner.

Despite all these issues, I'll check it out again next week...but I won't check in!

What is it about Giada?

2007-08-09T16:49:00.000-04:00

As the goal of my blog is for me to somehow meet Giada de Laurentiis, I thought I would talk about what it is I find fascinating about her compared to the other food network stars. It's not her cleavage. It is mighty impressive, but if that was what I cared about, I'd be into Sandra Lee as well. It's not just that I love Italian food. And it's not just that she shares stories about her recipes and makes it seem like the viewer is in the kitchen with her. What I truly love is that she loves her food. The only other chef on the food network who you ever see eat her own cooking is Rachael Ray, but she doesn't appeal as much too me as much as Giada. Giada truly loves her food. When she takes a bite of whatever it she has cooked, she closes her eyes as if to shut out the rest of the world and concentrate on the food. You can see it in her face when she eats how much she loves the food.

Everyday Italian actually has two stars, Giada and the food itself. This show is so well produced. You can hear everything that is going on. Every crack, crunch and squish is audible. This is just another element that makes the viewer feel like he is in the kitchen. Giada makes cooking a labor of love, without the labor. When you watch, you really get the feeling that Giada is enjoying every moment of preparing food.

I urge you to check out Everyday Italian. You may not love Giada as much as I do, but I think you'll enjoy the show.

Take it to the Bank

2007-08-09T14:01:00.000-04:00

Tyra's talk show aptly named Tyra is now taping it's first episodes as I type this. I mentioned in a prior post that she is in the same building as Martha Stewart. The crowd waiting to get in could not be more different than Martha's audience. Tyra's audience is composed of young black women, all in their 20's. However, it is not their race or age that is the striking contrast with a Martha audience. The major difference is in their appearance. The women going into see Tyra's show look like hookers at a convention. They are all wearing leggings or micro-minis that even Amanda Woodward would think are too small. Also there is not one woman in the crowd wearing lower than a 4 inch heel. And these are not solid chunky heels, but stiletto heels. Tyra may as well be doing a show called America's Next Top Ho. Welcome to the neighborhood Tyra.

Thoughts for Food

2007-08-08T16:02:00.000-04:00

I love to cook and I love TV, so it stands to reason that one of my favorite things to watch is the food network. I have learned a great deal and have amassed a considerable number of recipes by watching this channel. One thing I find interesting is the way the network juxtaposes some of its women. Paula Deen is followed by Giada de Laurentiis (did you just hear a choir of angels?). You go from watching deep fried fat to sumptuous Italian cuisine. From full figured to full cleavage. Both shows are entertaining, but I rarely make any of Paula's recipes.

Paula and Giada are both masters of their respective styles of cooking. Paula is a home cook with no formal training. Giada combines family recipes with culinary training. They both make their recipes personal and share stories about them as they cook. I feel like I am sitting across the counter from them as they prepare their dishes. How awesome would that be? To sit across the counter from Giada as she cooks. Sorry, I digress.

Someone needs to do an intervention for Paula. I realize she does southern style cooking which by its nature is not always the most healthy style of cooking. Nevertheless, how about some accountability? Right now she is making fish. You are probably thinking, "Such, fish is healthy." Yes, it is usually, but not when Ms. Deen gets a hold of it. First off she is making catfish. Now, I admit I am not a fan of fish so most fish to me is gross, but catfish is especially nasty. I know it is a southern thing, but it tastes like the bottom of the pond it came from. Personal feelings about fish aside, Ms. Deen takes any of the health benefits away from fish by deep frying it.

On the other end of the spectrum is Giada's show, Everyday Italian. The food is generally easy to prepare, great tasting and not fat laden. I admit it, I adore Giada. I may not like everything she cooks, but I love watching her. Not in a stalkery, peeping kind of way though. I always learn something when I watch Giada, whether it is a new recipe or a new technique. I even have all of her cookbooks. I love it when I watch her make something I have already tried from one of the books. Giada's recipes are perfect. If you follow them your food will come out great. The only times I have had a problem with any of them is when I thought something didn't look right, so I played with it. In those instances, the recipe was right.

No matter what your taste in food, both of these shows are bound to entertain. And who knows, you might even come away with a new recipe. For these women cooking is about sharing a part of yourself with friends and family. So while the food is different the heart of these shows is the same. Perhaps that is why they are back to back.

Boobs & Butts

2007-08-08T12:39:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite of the really bad reality shows is Dr. 90210. An entire show dedicated to superficiality and low self esteem. And I am not solely talking about the patients. Hey, I am all for plastic surgery if it is going to make you feel better about yourself, but at some point the doctors need to step in and say, "you know, I don't think you should do this."

Let's start with Dr. Matlock. This doctor surrounds himself with surgically enhanced women all the time. He has a different car for each day of the week. He has Armani and D&G scrub caps. He can obviously afford these things, but he is truly one of the most tragic people on the show. This man is so cleary gay and hiding from the truth. In fact, his friends threw him a "Sexy Back" party to help him get back into the dating game after ending a 4 year relationship. How do you invite people to a party like this? "Hey, I'm going to a party for a closeted friend of mine who just ended a relationship with a woman and needs to get back into the dating scene so please come and hang all over him." Or is it more like, "Hey wanna come to a party for a rich plastic surgeon and get on TV?" Based on the showing, I tend to think it was the latter. We also were treated to seeing Dr. Matlock perform liposuction on his brother and his brother's girlfriend. Neither of them needed this surgery. They were both stick thin before the surgery. We're talking going from size 0 to a -1. This was one of those times where a true physician would have said no to doing it. Dude, just come out and deal with your own reality.

This season we were introduced to a new surgoen, former Big Brother contestant, Dr. Will Kirby. He does cosmetic dermatology. He is the doctor who performed the tattoo removal on Deal or No Deal model Tameka. So far he seems decent, but you never know what will be revealed as the season progresses.

Finally onto the star of the series, Dr. Robert Rey. Will someone please teach this man how to dress!!! He dresses like a pimp. A bad 80's pimp. Plaid suits with bright yellow shits and purple ties?!? To quote Grandpa Howard from Sixteen Candles "No, he's not retarded!" He is so condescending to his female patients. He refers to them all as girls. Never women. I don't think he would know how to treat a woman. Case in point, his anorexic wife Hayley. She is beyond tragic. She is a real life Nora from Ibsen's Doll House. He speaks so condescendingly to her. He doesn't even treat her like an adult. Admittedly she is dumber than a box of rocks, but don't talk about her like she is a child. Yes, she did reheat a store bought roast chicken in the plastic box it came in, melting the box all over the oven and the chicken, but you don't talk smack about your wife. Admittedly, Dr. Rey is trying to be a better father this season than he has been in the past, but he doesn't understand how to be a parent. He went out and bought a full set of adult size instruments for his family, including an electric guitar for his 4 year old daughter. He wants them to be like the Partridge Family, but none of them can sing or play (much like the real Partridge's). The man's heart may be in the right place, but he needs to learn that buying toys doesn't make you a good parent. Be home and spend time with your kids. Maybe then your wife will have time to eat. You do great work as a surgeon, but learn how to treat people. Your bedside manner needs a lift.